The Boy Who Travels Through Fog
by TenFiftyFour
Summary: Discovering the truth is one thing, accepting it is another. Alternate take on the events leading up to the end of the year, and the day all of Inaba will be consumed by the fog. Can Yu and Naoto solve the case before it's too late? Or will the truths they hide from each other divide them?
1. Prologue: The Wrong Reasons

**October 7th**

The school bell rang, and Yu suddenly realized he hadn't been paying attention to the lecture at all. Chairs sqeaked across the floor as the other students stood from their desks and began to loudly gather their things and head for the door. The teacher yelled something about tomorrow's lesson and homework, but it was mostly drowned out by the sound of high-schoolers laughing and talking about after-school plans.

A girl with short brown hair and a bright green track jacket leaned over to Yu from the seat next to his. "You were really zoned out there, weren't you?" She said. "Still got your mind on the case?"

Chie was already finished putting her things away and was currently tapping her heel against the ground, a habit that could mean she was either incredibly anxious or perfectly content. The girl was always brimming with energy, so Yu could never quite tell which it was.

"Yeah, I guess so." Yu responded, beginning to gather his things in front of him. "It just seems so strange now, we're the only ones who know that the killer is still at large. The police haven't a clue, and the public just assumes Kubo is the one responsible. I guess I was just trying to piece everything together in my head, and decide where to go from here. I really should have been paying attention though, huh? I'm probably going to need you help on the homework tonight." He smiled.

"That's a joke, right?" The girl laughed. "You know I'm going to be getting all my answers from Yukiko."

As she said her name, Yu noticed the dark haired girl in a red jacket walk up beside them from the row just ahead, carrying her books in front of her.

"I've been thinking about the case too," she said, speaking in a soft tone as if trying not to be overheard. "It really is a lot of pressure on us, isn't it? I mean, no one would believe that the true killer is throwing people into television sets to die by their own shadows."

"I'm still not sure _I_ can even believe it." Chie sighed, her foot slowing its tempo under her desk.

"But, I've also been thinking..." Yukiko continued, "We've got a real detective with us now! I'm sure we can rely on him- um, _her _to solve this case for good. She did figure out that Kubo-san was only a copycat killer all by herself, didn't she?"

This detective, Naoto Shirogane, had just joined their group recently after being kidnapped by the killer just two weeks ago. She had been working with the Inaba Police as a private investigator on the case, all the while pretending to be a boy to avoid the unfortunate instances of sexual discrimination on the force. This facade came crashing down in the foggy light of the TV world however, when Yu and his friends were presented with all of her secrets and insecurities in the form of her "shadow". This was all expected however, as each member of the group had at one point been kidnapped and thrown into a television screen to come face to face with their other selves. All except for one of them, of course.

"Hmm, Naoto-kun will definitely be a big help," Yu said thoughtfully, "But she got kicked off the force before because the police didn't believe her. And now that getting herself kidnapped to prove there was another culprit didn't give her any hard evidence to take back to the station, she only has us to rely on as well."

"That's true..."

"Still, I only had this gut feeling that we weren't done with the case before, it wasn't until Naoto pulled that stunt that I realized I should have paid more attention. So I'm sure we could all learn a thing or two from her."

Yukiko pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and nodded.

"Yo, you guys want to grab some food at Junes later? I'm off work today so I thought we could all hang out. Give Naoto-kun a proper welcome to the crew, you know?"

The cheery voice of Yosuke made the three perk up and turn to face the boy, who was walking up from his desk closer to the back of the room. The headphones around his neck were producing a tinny sounding rock song too quiet to really make out. Yu wondered if he actually kept his music playing all throughout class.

"You're don't have to work there today, but you _still_ want to hang out at Junes?" Chie spat in her jeering tone she reserved soley for berating Yosuke.

"Yeah, why not? I get great discounts on food, which I have to take advantage of ever since _someone_ cleaned out my account buying expensive clothes for Teddie!" Yosuke's voice grew more intense when he mentioned their odd friend's name. Yukiko tried to hide the smile growing on her face by tucking her chin into her shoulder and turning away.

"I said I was sorry about that! Jeez, what else do you want from me?"

"What- you...!"

Chie always knew the best ways to push Yosuke's buttons, and he played right into her hands way too easily. Yu exchanged a glance with a chuckling Yukiko and smiled. He felt bad for his friend, but it was just too funny to see him lose his cool like this.

"Hmph. Anyway, are you guys interested or not? I'm going to take care of something at home first then I can meet you there later."

"Well I'm in," Yu said. "Let's go mention it to the others before they-"

"Excuse me." He was cut short as a small student from downstairs walked into the classroom. The student looked hesitent to enter the room full of upper classmen, and stood stiffly in the doorway for a moment before walking over to Yu's desk. Grey eyes partially hidden under the brim of a blue cap regarded the three others before continuing, "Do you all have free time after school today?"

They glanced at each other for a moment, the businesslike tone could have just been this person's way of seeing if they wanted to hang out, but knowing the detective that probably wasn't the case.

Chie spoke first. "Oh, hey Naoto-kun. What's up? Did... something happen?"

"No... That is, nothing involving the case per se..." Her voice briefly trailed off. "I'd like to have a doctor examine Teddie."

This came out of nowhere. Teddie was certainly a strange boy, Yu and Yosuke had first encountered him inside the TV world, which he apparently called his home. He was dressed as a bear-like creature, and took an instant liking to Yu in particular, calling him his "sensei". Since then, he had helped them discover the location of the people who were kidnapped and thrown into the TV, and eventually was able to venture outside his homeworld in the form of a blonde-haired blue-eyed high-school boy. Though he held onto his strange and quirky behavior outside of the TV, he had been such a close part of the group that none of them had even considered getting him checked out by a doctor. He was always just another high-school kid like them, albeit a very weird one.

After exchanging confused looks, Yukiko spoke up.

"A doctor...? You mean a vet?"

Yu held back a chuckle, as Naoto gave Yukiko an odd look, trying to determine whether she was joking or not. As great a student as she was, if Naoto had known her as well as the rest of the group did, she would know that of course, Yukiko was being perfectly serious.

"Um, the normal kind, actually. If you are all free, I've scheduled a checkup for him this afternoon. I thought a thourough physical examination would be a good first step in determining what Teddie really is. I've made arrangements to have all of you examined as well, if that's okay. We have no idea what kind of negative effects being inside the TV could have on our bodies."

Yu was taken aback by the detective's thought process. If he thought he had underestimated her before, well... he had a lot to learn. It seemed so obvious, though. They had been going in and out of the TV for months, and without special glasses to see through the fog on the other side, they would instantly become fatigued. He had never considered lasting effects though, as they usually felt fine when they came out. As for Teddie... now that Naoto had said something about it, questions that had been lingering at the back of his mind came flooding out into the open.

"Negative effects?" Yosuke asked, sounding alarmed. "Well... I guess I'd never thought about it."

"It's a good idea, Naoto." Yu said. "We should all head over there after we leave."

"You're really on the ball with all this aren't you? Are you sure you're not an adult?" Chie grinned.

"Eh, her height's a dead giveaway."

Naoto glared up at Yosuke before collecting herself and turning to leave. "I'll see you all there then."

They watched as their underclassman walked briskly out the door and turned down the hallway. "Man, she's really gotta learn to lighten up." Yosuke said, wincing.

* * *

The bright white halls of Inaba Municipal Hospital had become somewhat familiar to Yu, as he had spent many nights working part-time here as a janitor. However, just the sound of people's voices near the front desk or the occasional doctor walking by made him feel infinitely more comfortable then the cold, lonely hallways did at night. Not to mention he had Kanji sitting beside him.

Although he was Yu's underclassman Kanji stood at least a head higher than himself, had bleached blonde hair, and normally dressed in black with some kind of skull printed somewhere on his clothing. He had an intimidating presence, yet the more Yu got to know him, the more that rough exterior began to fade, giving way to a sensitive young man who was deeply concerned with his friends and family, and who was just trying too hard to hide the fact that he liked making stuffed animals in his free time.

"So uh... Senpai, why aren't we taking Teddie to a _vet_?" Hey, no one said he was a genius.

"Well, we're not really sure _what _Teddie is, but we're pretty sure a regular doctor would be more helpful," Yu responded, taking Kanji's question seriously. "That said, if nothing comes of this check-up I'm not sure what to do next. Vet? Neurologist? Psychic? Your guess is as good as mine."

"Yeah, all this stuff is really strange... TV world, shadows, personas. I don't think I've ever really thought about just how _weird _it all is. At least not until _she..._" Kanji trailed off, looking down at the floor.

He was thinking about the detective, of course. The kid had been infatuated with her ever since she had showed up to interview him regarding the kidnappings and murders. Right before Kanji was kidnapped himself. It was true though, the presence of a seasoned, logical detective in their group gave Yu a new perspective on their whole endeavor. Slaying shadows inside a TV with beings called personas that they called forth with their own minds? It all seemed so rediculous in contrast with what should be a real world investigation into a serial murder case. But the two sides were inexplicably linked, which meant the only ones who had the ability to close the case and bring the murderer to justice were those with that ability- Yu and his friends, and now Naoto.

The door in front of them opened, and Yosuke stepped out looking slightly annoyed. "Well, that was a waste of time."

"Nothing interesting?" Yu asked.

"Nah, I'm perfectly normal, believe it or not."

"Oh, so they didn't do a brain scan?"

"Yeah, yeah. You're hilarious." Yosuke rolled his eyes. "You're next partner, so you'd better get in there."

Yu grinned and stood up, Yosuke taking his place in the seat next to Kanji. "Good luck, Senpai!" Kanji said as Yu shut the door behind him.

He walked down a small corridor before reaching an area with a table and two doors on either side. The table was stacked with papers. Their checkup results? The door on the left was closed, probably the room where Teddie was. He sure was taking a while. Down the hallway further was probably the girls' room, so that meant his room was the open door to the right. He walked inside. There were the usual things he expected to see in a room like this, the metal scale, the stiff bed covered with a sheet of paper, the cabinets containing all kinds of needles and instruments and medications. Something suddenly felt off, though, something that Yu couldn't really put his finger on until he noticed that the room itself had taken on a distinct shade of... blue?

Then he noticed the bed wasn't actually a bed, but was a series of long cushioned seats, rolling along the wall patterned with intricate blue designs. The cabinets were a fancy looking bar in the floor, filled of shimmering champagne glasses and exotic drinks that he'd never heard of before. The ceiling compressed and the light fixture dimmed to emit only a soft blue glow. And the scale... in its place were three figures. On the left was a young girl in a plaid skirt and blue cap with a blue messenger bag, looking down at her feet. On the right was a gorgeous blonde woman wearing a blue dress, with a faint smile on her face holding a large book in her lap. In the center a sinister looking old man sat leaning forward, his gloved hands locked together under his long, hooked nose. The man grinned a toothy grin and stared up at Yu with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Welcome," he said rather cordially, "to the Velvet Room."

* * *

"Greetings!" The old man named Igor lifted his head and smiled. "So we meet again."

"H-hello. Sorry, I didn't expect you guys to show up here of all places." Yu found himself sitting inside the back of a limosine, a particularly nice one at that, where everything, even the residents, were adorned in an impossibly deep shade of blue. He could feel the slight bumpiness below him of wheels rolling over a paved road, letting him know the vehicle was moving along, but as he tried to glance outside to see where they were going, his view was obscured by a thick fog.

"Apologies," said Igor, "But we have come to inquire into your current situation, as well as to inform you of a change in your contract." The man seemed to draw out each word as he spoke, as if he found great joy in teasing every syllable.

"My contract?" Yu asked, "Look, can we make this somewhat quicker than normal? I'm supposed to be getting a physical exam from a doctor right about now." He had no idea what had become of the hospital, or if he was even still there, physically at least. And if he was, what was he doing right now? Standing there like a zombie?

"A physical examination? I see..." Igor glanced to his left at the blonde woman, who returned a somewhat worried look. She turned back to Yu.

"You needn't worry about being late for your appointment. Time flows differently here, and you should return to your previous state without missing a moment."

"Now..." Igor moved his hands to his lap and sat up somewhat straighter. "For our first order of business. Margaret?"

"Of course. It is good to see you again, Narukami-san." The blonde woman gave Yu a soft, but genuine smile. That smile that always sent butterflies up through his chest.

"You too, Margaret." Yu said, more comfortable now that he felt confident time wasn't being wasted un the hospital. "Hey Marie. Long time no see."

The girl to Igor's right jerked her head up, obviously shaken out of her apparent daze. "Huh? You dork, we just hung out the other day."

"I know, just teasing." Yu smiled. "Your poem I found the other day really spoke to me." He had taken Marie on enought adventures with his friends outside of the Velvet Room now that she was basically a part-time member of the group. He also knew how to push all of her rage buttons. One of the big ones of course was reading out loud the poetry that sometimes happened to fall out of her messenger bag. Poetry that she liked to write.

She scoffed and folded her arms, gazing off out the window into the fog. "You're so weird..."

Margaret gave a small chuckle, before clearing her throat and preparing to focus on the task at hand. "Have you been strengthening your bonds, Yu Narukami?" It was a strange question, one that Yu had heard from Margaret and Igor before, but was never quite sure what to make of it.

"My bonds? Well yeah I suppose, I have a very supportive group of friends with me. We're all pretty close."

"And your individual bonds? That is, the links formed between you and another individual, seperate from a group? These are the bonds that will become the deepest and most true."

"...And the ones that will allow you to create even stronger personas," Igor chimed in.

Create stronger personas... everyone else in the group had a single persona, or "mask that one wears to face life's hardships," yet he had the unusual power to carry many with him, or create more if he wanted to. What did that mean? Was he adaptable? Or was it that he simply "borrowed" other personas and that he never had one of his own to begin with? He wasn't sure himself, but it was something that had bothered him from the beginning.

"I have," He responded, somewhat flatly.

"Mmm." Margaret seemed to approve. "And you are aware that there is a new bond wating to be formed now, one of the... fortune arcana."

A new bond? Did she mean Naoto? The detective was the only person in the group that he hadn't had the chance to talk to one on one yet. "Yeah... I guess so. I haven't really gotten to know her yet but... what does any of this have to do with my contract? With finding the true killer?"

Margaret smiled again. "Your journey is rife with obstacles that will attempt to divert your heart from the truth. Strengthening bonds with others allows your heart grow more resilient, and better equipped to handle what may come."

Yu sighed. "I suppose I get it, somewhat. It seems like one of those things that will make more sense once I'm face to face."

"Indeed." Igor never stopped staring at him with those wide eyes, and Yu would be hard pressed to recall ever seeing him blink before. "Now, our second, and true motive for bringing you here today. How... do you feel?"

"What?" _That_ was their real reason for bringing him here? To casually ask how he's doing? "I'm fine. Thanks?" He glanced around at each of their faces, waiting for Margaret to speak up and tell him that it was just one of her awkward jokes. But she simply gazed at him with a vague smile, her hands placed calmly on top of her book.

"The reason I ask you this," Igor continued, "Is that fate predicts a shift in circumstances regarding your journey for the truth, and one that may affect your contract as well." He paused, gauging Yu's reaciton to the news. "Furthermore, I believe this shift in circumstances will also be brought about by a change within _yourself_."

Yu began to get a bit impatient. "What circumstances? What change?"

"These things, we cannot know. We can only offer this warning for you to heed. Will you be able to take this into account, while still moving relentlessly towards the truth?" Igor tilted his head and stared even deeper. This had to be some kind of test.

"Of course." Yu responed without hesitation.

"Splendid!" Igor rested his chin on his closed hand. "Then we should have no need to worry."

Yu rubbed his eyes and sighed once more. "These readings of yours, these... 'predictions'. They aren't very helpful, are they?"

"We residents of the Velvet Room are disconnected from the circumstances in your world," Margaret responded, "But we can form predictions based on certain metaphysical aspects such as human thought patterns and, of course, shadows. I'm sorry, but the details we obtain are minimal. We can only give you enough information to help guide you down the right path."

Yu just frowned and sank back into his seat.

"Well then!" Igor returned to his jovial tone from before. "It is time to bid you farewell once more."

The images before Yu begain to waver.

"Until we meet again..."

"Bye Yu!" Marie said with a rare smile. Margaret gave a short nod.

"Oh, and one last warning," Igor's voice began to grow faint,"I would recommend the results of your physical examination be kept hidden from anyone who may interpret them the wrong way..."

Yu sat up. "Wait... what!?" He shouted, but the blue room had vanished, and the doctor's office had returned in its place. "Igor!"

"What's that supposed to mean...?" He muttered out loud.

"Um..." A woman's voice came from behind, startling him.

"If you're looking for Doctor Frankenstein, you've come to the wrong place."

It was the nurse... Sayoko! The one who normally worked late shifts while he was on janitor duty.

"You're a strange kid." She eyed him and gave him a sly smile. "The doctor says he apologizes for running late. He'll be here any minute."

She turned and glanced back at him before starting down the hall. "I'll see you again soon."

Yu said nothing as he watched her leave. His mind was elsewhere. Interpret them the wrong way? The hell did Igor mean by that? He took a seat on the cushioned table and ran a hand through his hair. Whatever the old man meant, he was sure to find out soon enough. In the meantime however, he would have to come up with a plan to steal his own results.

* * *

"How long should we sit here and wait for them? I'm starving..." Chie sat in a lobby chair with her head tilted back towards the ceiling, her foot tapping incessantly. Beside her, Yosuke sat staring at the wall clock's second hand as it ticked along at increasingly slower intervals. The rest of the team had finished their checkups at least twenty minutes ago, with nothing interesting or out of the ordinary to report. The only ones still missing were Teddie, Naoto, and Yu.

"I'm with you, Chie." Rise, the former teen idol and third kidnapping victim to join the 'Investigation Team' moaned and rubbed her temples. "Let's give them five more minutes before we leave them here. These bright lights are giving me a headache!"

Yosuke just sighed and nodded. He could understand why Teddie might take a bit longer than the rest of them given the circumstances. But where was Yu? He went in right afterwards.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." The group turned at the sound of Naoto's voice, to see her walking towards them with Teddie a few steps behind.

"Well?" Yosuke asked, "Anything interesting?"

"Only that he appears to be perfectly normal, I'm afraid," Naoto said with a sigh. "Well, I did recommend that the doctor take an x-ray, but no matter how many times it was performed, the picture came out too blurry to discern."

At this, the group exchanged confused looks.

Naoto continued, "The doctor said the machine may be malfuctioning, and to try another hospital if we are still worried." She glanced at Teddie, who she wasn't sure was even listening at all. "I'm sorry for making you go through all of this, Teddie"

The boy grinned, looking for all intents and purposes like he thoroughly enjoyed the whole ordeal. "They took a look at everything inside me..." he said in a mischevious tone.

"You weirdo..." Chie said, "They couldn't even see anything on the x-ray!"

Kanji tilted his head. "But, they couldn't find anything wrong with him I guess. Man, we know about as much about Teddie as we do those Personas and Shadows."

"Mmm..." Naoto's gaze fell off to the side, as it often did when she was consumed in thought. She brought her head up abruptly though when she noticed the absence of the leader of the group. "Hm? Where is Narukami-san?"

Yosuke shrugged. "I thought you would know better than us. Did you see him at all back there?"

"Senpaaaiiii..." Rise whined. "Where are you? I'm starving!"

"Here, sorry." The tall silver-haired boy walked up next to Teddie, his hands in his pockets. "Sorry about that, took longer than expected. I figured I should go ahead and do the whole x-ray thing too, just to be safe."

Naoto turned her head to him and gave him a rather suspicious look. "And...?"

"Nothing to report. I'm painfully normal." Yu smirked, looking somewhat embarrased despite himself. "So what did we find out about Teddie?"

"Nothing interesting, it seems," she replied.

"Oh, he did get an x-ray, but the doctors couldn't tell anything from it because it was too blurry," Yukiko added.

Yu blinked, and looked at Naoto."Blurry? That's interesting, isn't it?"

"It is," She said, "But it doesn't tell us anything particularly useful. A visual examination and standard palpations indicate he is perfectly normal."

"I'm better than normal!" Teddie exclaimed, suddenly pulling a small stack of paperwork out from under his silk button-up. "Tadaa! I've got loads of blackmail material!"

"Wh-what! What is that?" Kanji sputtered out. Yosuke's face took on a look of surprised anger, he knew exactly what they were. The rest of the group went pale.

"These days, information wants to be free! It's only fair since you all got to hear _my _results!" Teddie straightened and held the papers out at arms length, tilting his head and mock-squinting as if trying to focus through far-sighted glasses. Chie sprang up and tried to tackle the boy, but he was too quick for her and dodged out of the way, causing her to slam into the wall behind him.

"Dammit! Don't you dare!"

"Ahem! Let's see... how about we start with all of the ladies' measurements?" His eyes twinkled with devious delight.

"Yeah, start with those!" Yosuke grinned, his anger suddenly forgotten.

"Yeah! Wait..." Yu lifted an eyebrow. "What kind of examinations were these, exactly?" He was confused, but made no move to stop the boy.

Rise, surprisingly calm, walked over next to him and glanced down at the papers in his hand. "It's fine, my profile has been public knowledge for a while. Although, they tend to exaggerate my bust size a bit..."

"No!" Yukiko cried. "Don't read mine!" Her face went bright red.

"It's okay, Senpai. I'm sure the guys won't care what size you are."

"You're a dead man if you read mine, Teddie!" Chie hissed. "Do you hear me? Dead! I'll put my foot so far up your ass..."

"Hmm, let's see..." Rise now took part in Teddie's mischief, it seemed. "Ah, Naoto-kun's is the first page! Hers are..." A look of confusion crossed her face.

"Umm... is this right? Wait a minute... they had to have measured this wrong."

The Investigation Team, along with many others, had confused Naoto for a boy due to the way she dressed and carried herself. This was her intention, of course, and Rise always assumed the fact that the detective wasn't very well-endowed only helped her cause. But this... this probably meant...

"I think we've all heard enough!" A hand snached the stack of papers from Teddie's hand, interrupting Rise mid-thought and causing her to jump in surprise. The blue-haired detective glared at Rise, beads of sweat starting to form above her brow. "The important thing is that we're all perfectly healthy!" She then turned and began to walk briskly towards the exit. "I'm going to go shred these!"

Everyone stood there briefly and watched her walk down the hallway. Yosuke cracked a nervous smile.

"Well," his voice shook slightly, "I guess we all got what we came here for, didn't we?"

Chie scowled and turned to him with a look of disgust. "Whatever. I'm going home for dinner, I don't feel like hanging out with you guys anymore." The other girls nodded.

Teddie hung his head, pouting. His fun always had to be ruined somehow. Yosuke walked up to him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Come on, you perverted bear. Let's get out of here." He started to walk down the hall when Kanji suddenly spoke.

"Hey, where's Senpai?"

Yosuke stopped and looked around. "Oh yeah... did he take off in the middle of that commotion?"

"Aww... Sensei's no fun." Teddie whined.

* * *

"Hey, wait up."

Naoto turned as the silver-haired teen jogged up next to her on the sidewalk. She had slowed her walk considerably once she felt that she was at a safe distance from the hospital, but she still hadn't expected anyone to follow her.

"Oh... Hello Yu-san," She said, obviously surprised that he had come to talk to her alone. Her demeanor changed quickly though, and her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Don't expect any further elaboration from me on my examination results."

Yu's eyes went wide. "Woah- Hey... that's not at all what I was going to say to you." He grimaced, his eyes darting about rapidly. When she appeared unconvinced, he continued, "L-look, I'm sorry about Teddie, he tends to be a bit of a handful. This wasn't the first time he tried to get under the girls' skin. I blame Yosuke, personally. He's supposed to be keeping the kid in check."

"I see. Then what _did _you want to say?" If Naoto was always this cold, getting to know her would be a much more difficult task then he had thought.

He hesitated. The air outside was becoming quite brisk as the sun was setting on the horizon. A gust of wind caused him to tighten up his coat, and he heard the sound of papers fluttering, the ones Naoto held tightly at her side. There was a brief silence, although it felt more like an eternity. He searched his mind as he pretended to be interested in the collection of little shops he had already passed numerous times on his way home from school.

_What was it again? Come on, man... you always take too long to think before responding to something. Umm..._

He chuckled. "Well now it just feels like I've come to talk to you for completely the wrong reasons." _Yes, better to quit while you're ahead. Now let's see if we can make this even more awkward... _Stopping abruptly, he turned left down another road just past the shopping district.

"I-I'll take the scenic route home. Sorry to bug you."

_Damn. It usually isn't this hard. Are you happy Margaret? At least I tried._

As he continued to walk down the road, unable to look back out of embarassment, he heard Naoto call out, "Yu-san! Wait!" Which caused him to stop quickly and look back over his shoulder.

"Huh?"

"Tell me... I glanced at the examination results as I left. Why didn't I find your results with the others?" _Ah._

"My results? You mean they're not in there?"

"No. And I didn't drop any on the way out." She took a breath and adjusted her cap. "Are you sure you're not... hiding something?"

The question came as somewhat of a shock to Yu, even though he knew he was in fact hiding something. It was difficult to make out Naoto's face, her figure was silhouetted by the setting sun over the shops behing her. It was an oddly appropriate circumstance given that Yu suddenly felt like he was being interrogated.

"Well, Teddie must have grabbed the rest before mine came out then. You guys did finish before me."

She nodded, apparently satisfied with his response. "Right. That does make sense. Sorry I asked, but curiosity got the best of me."

"No worries. Goodnight, Naoto-kun." Yu was now very sure he just wanted to go home and be done with the day. He didn't want to think about test results or 'strengthening bonds' anymore. He just wanted to lie down and let his mind drift off into the fog of sleep. But when he started to turn down the road once again, she called to him.

"Y-Yu-san!"

"Hm?"

"You don't have to go that way... my apartment is just past the flood plains. Would... you mind accompanying me until then?" Then she added, "I have some details about the case I'd like to go over with you on the way."

_"Interesting..." _He thought, _"Maybe Naoto actually does want to connect with us all. Maybe her cold, businesslike behavior really is just a defense mechanism. Just like her shadow implied..." _

_"...Or could it just be that she feels bad about accusing me of wanting to know more about her size?"_

"Sure. Looks like I might get rained on if I go this way anyway. The clouds over here are beginning to look rather nasty."

He smiled, buttoned up his fall jacket and walked back up to meet the detective. Meanwhile, he felt an odd sensation in the back of his mind, like a small, long forgotten memory being brought back to light. A picture, like on one of Igor's mysterious tarot cards. _A mask one wears to face life's hardships._

_Happy NOW, Margaret?  
_

* * *

Sayoko pulled on her coat and rummaged through her pockets until she found her keys. She walked down the long corridor from the break room past the reception area. It had been a long day, and even though she wasn't working the full night shift tonight, she had still worked a good twelve hours and was exhausted. One of the doctors from upstairs passed by her and nodded.

"Heading out Sayoko? Be careful, it's been raining tonight and the streets are all wet."

"Yes, thanks, I'll be careful. Have a good night." She smiled and gave a slight wave as she made her way to the exit door.

"Oh, Sayoko?" He called out.

She stopped short and tensed her brow. _"What now?"_

"Did you call the technicians earlier? About the x-ray machine in 312?"

"Yes I did, hours ago. They said they would make it out tomorrow morning."

"I see. Thanks again."

"What was wrong with the machine by the way? We just took an x-ray of a patient a few hours ago and it was working fine."

The doctor looked a bit agitated. "I can't say exactly. Two of the patients we saw earlier today had their results come out... obscured."

Sayoko turned to face him, suddenly forgetting how tired she was. "Obscured. How?"

"Well, blurry, to be exact. One of them was so blurred that we couldn't get any information from it, just general shapes. The other was more clear, just... fuzzy. Much fuzzier then your average reading."

"Ah..." She was far from impressed. "Sounds like some kind of normal malfuction. It should get taken care of in the morning."

"I hope so." The doctor turned away. "Goodnight, Sayoko."

"Goodnight."

The automatic doors slid open, and she was greeted by a gust of cool air and the roaring sound of rain hitting the roofs of parked cars. She pulled the hood over her head and zipped up her coat, before walking away from the bright white lights of the hospital out onto the dark, rainy streets of Inaba at midnight.

* * *

**Alright, let's get the ball rolling on this thing. Now that I have that somewhat lengthy intro out of the way, I shouldn't have to focus so much on exposition in the following chapters. I know fanfiction is a magical genre where you can just jump into the middle of a world and assume that everyone knows the story so far, but it's never felt right to not do any kind of world building regardless.**

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please review, whether you loved it or hated it, be as harsh as you want. As long as I get feedback I'll be more motivated to keep this going. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Miss Universe, part one

"Now then, concentrate. I will place my hand on a card, and you will reveal to me what appears in your mind's eye. Dig deep into your psyche; these thoughts will take the form of the arcana we will utilize to forge your new persona…"

Yu shifted in his seat to an upright position and stared intently at the tarot cards laid out on the table. He used the dull rumble of the engine and the subtle hum of the blue lights to help draw himself deeper into a meditative state, focusing only on his internal thoughts and how they connected with the cards in front of him. Igor watched silently until he felt that Yu had reached an acceptable level of concentration. He then unfolded his gloved hands from under his nose, bringing his right arm out to hover over the tabletop. He brought it down, and moved it slowly to the left, placing it on top of the leftmost of the three tarot cards lying face down.

"What do you see?"

Yu stared at the card. The first time he participated in the fusion ritual, it was at this point that he blurted out something that came to his mind, an image or some pointless thought he was having. He learned then, after being hushed by Margaret, that this was not at all what Igor wanted. Certain notions are unable to be expressed by words, he found out, and Igor was very adept at teasing out the obtuse images in Yu's mind without trying to give them some kind of meaning or justification.

Igor stared at his face for a moment longer, then nodded. "I see."

The card was flipped over and placed on the table face up. An image appeared on what was initially a blank surface. "Empress."

Margaret, who was gazing at the cards on the table with an intense interest, as she did, displayed a slight smile, and her eyes grew brighter.

Wasting no time, Igor brought his hand over to his right side and placed a finger on the card there.

The more he went through the motions, the more Yu came to understand what thoughts correlated with which arcana. He became somewhat better at directing his mind towards certain outcomes. Sometimes what he perceived was contrary to what he expected, but this time he was fairly sure of what the card on the table would reveal.

"Justice." The blue card rotated by itself, displaying the image of a scale balanced on a sword.

"Very good." Igor grinned. He moved his hand to the middle card, the one closest to where Yu was sitting. "Now, one more."

This one was not as expected.

"Ah," said Igor as the card turned over, "The Hanged Man."

"As I thought," said Margaret. She leaned back, and brought her hand from her chin to rest on top of the large book in her lap. "Now complete the ritual."

Igor tensed for a moment, sensing Margaret's impatience. The woman defied her calm, in-control demeanor whenever a fusion ritual was in process. It was as if she were a child waiting to open the first present at her birthday party. She truly took much pleasure in filling out that massive book of hers with newborn personas.

With an indifferent sounding grunt, Igor waved his arm over the three cards, causing them to lift up into the air. A strange glow emanated from above the table, and the cards hovered there for a moment before crashing into each other with a burst of light. As the glow subsided, a single tarot card floated downward, spinning neatly from the middle, as if on an invisible axis. Igor reached up and gently took the card between his thumb and forefinger, keeping it up in front of him for Yu to see.

The card contained a faint picture of a human form, and Yu had to squint to make it out. It looked to be a woman dressed in white, with golden hair tied up in braids. She was holding what appeared to be a long thread. Her cold, blank eyes seemed to peer into his very soul without even a hint of interest or expectation. Only… acknowledgement.

"Do you feel her presence?" Margaret asked.

"Yes." Yu responded. He did indeed feel as if somehow a door had been unlocked in his mind. Like an answer that seems to come to you out of the blue, long after you had given up on the solution to a problem.

"This is Clotho," said Igor, "the one who spins the thread of fate. She is the one who has been waiting patiently in the depths of your soul, and I'm sure she will serve you well on your journey." He released his grip, and the card in his hand dissolved into blue smoke.

"I see you have taken to heart our advice about bonds." Margaret had just finished scribbling something down in her book. She closed it and turned to Yu with a slight smile on her face. "Without the initiation of the one who holds the fortune arcana, you would not have been able to give birth to this wonderful aspect of yourself. So there is no need to be skeptical, Yu Narukami, the bonds you form with others quite literally give you a greater power of heart."

"…And with it, more powerful personas!" Added Igor, the ends of his grin looking like they might just extend past the outline of his face.

Yu chuckled. "Am I going to get this lecture every time I come here?"

Marie, who up until this time was staring out the window at the fog with complete disinterest, finally came back to reality when she heard Yu speak. "Hey, make sure you're not spending all your time hanging out with that detective kid. I know you have business, but remember you still owe me a steak skewer!"

"_Owe _you? I boughtthem for you last time!" Yu felt a sudden sympathy for his friend Yosuke.

"Yeah, but I said I wanted another one later. Doesn't that mean you owe me?"

"I don't think it works like that…"

"However it works, I want another one, so just come get me. It's been too long since you took me somewhere." It was sometimes hard to remember that Marie was completely ignorant to the outside world, as she spent most of her time here in the velvet room.

'_Probably writing poetry.' _He smiled to himself. "I know, I will soon I promise. I just have a few things to take care of first." He turned to Margaret and Igor. "Alright guys, I've got to go. Until next time." And with that, he vanished from the room.

The three residents sat in silence for moment. Igor stroked his chin before folding his hands together under his nose, closing his eyes to slip into a deep meditation.

Marie crossed her arms and returned her gaze out the window of the moving car. "He's all business, isn't he?" She rested her chin on her palm dejectedly. Something about the fog outside the window intrigued her as much as it made her feel ill. Still, there was something hypnotizing about the soft, billowing wisps of air that passed slowly by.

Margaret was upright in her seat, gazing down at the open book in her lap as she calmly traced her finger across the pages. As she did so, she remarked casually to Igor, "So, what did you sense during the ritual today? Has the boy's reluctance subsided? Has his will become stronger?"

The old man's eyelids lifted, and he wore an expression of slight annoyance on his face. "Possibly," he said. "His reluctance still hinders the fusion process. But his heart has grown stronger, despite this. We will have to wait and see how this situation plays out. He may yet be able to save his soul from deterioration."

Margaret's finger stopped suddenly on the page, for a moment her concentration was broken. "That is… good to hear," she said, before returning to her reading.

* * *

**October 30****th**

Well, he supposed Yosuke deserved it. The boy sat in his chair with his forehead planted on the desktop, his arms dangling listlessly at his sides. The tinny sound of some rock song was still blaring in the headphones hanging around his neck. It was a pitiful sight, and Yu would have had the heart to feel sorry for him, if the boy hadn't dug his own grave this time. A day earlier he had signed Chie, Rise, Yukiko and Naoto's names on a participation form for a school sponsored beauty pageant, without them knowing about it, and without being able to opt out. Needless to say, the girls were out for blood, and they retaliated swiftly and effectively by entering Yosuke into his own kind of beauty pageant the next day. Which brought Yu to the other reason why he would feel no sympathy for the guilty teen…

"Wait a minute here… did you have to sign _us_ up as well?" He said.

"Well I guess not…" Chie replied, fidgeting.

"All for one and one for all!" Yosuke shouted, his forehead making an audible smacking noise at it came unstuck from the desktop. "Come on man, you can't let me do this all by myself!"

"There's no way any of you can opt out after you've been signed up!" Yukiko had her arms folded across her chest, assuming the role of the hotel manager she was often required to play at her family's business. "It's only fair that you guys have to suffer too!"

"This is _so_ not cool." The boy leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and dragging his hands through his hair as if he meant to tear it all out in one go.

"Don't worry!" Rise was much too excited for this dreadful occasion. "We'll make you guys look absolutely adorable! I think we have time to quickly run to Junes and pick out some cute clothes. Senpai, you won't regret it, I promise!"

Rise was as cute as a button, a bouncy teen with bright hazel eyes and a smile that could melt an iceberg. Through her time spent in the limelight as a famous teen idol, she had honed her charm and personal appeal to the point that she could probably get away with murder, if she wanted to. She stood in front of Yu and held her arms behind her back, her loose brown pigtails bouncing as she tilted her head to the side, flashing him one of her world-famous smiles. She radiated a level of adorable that would make any 'Risette' fan submit completely and let her do whatever she wanted to him. But Yu knew her. He had seen her shadow. Nothing good could come of this.

"I'll work with Yu-senpai. Yukiko-senpai, you do Teddie. Chie-senpai, you're with Yosuke." Rise took a commanding stance and pointed to the boys one by one, each of them wincing and turning away like scolded dogs at the sound of their names.

Chie drove a sinister glare into Yosuke and topped it off with a twisted smile. Revenge was too sweet. The boy whimpered, and hid his face in his hands.

"Naoto-kun can you take care of Kanji's makeup?" Rise turned to the short girl standing next to Kanji behind Yosuke's desk. Her dark hair, mostly hidden under a navy blue cabbie hat, was short cropped and messy, as if she had simply toweled it off after a rushed shower and went about dressing for the day. Her clothes consisted of the black Yasogami High uniform specifically made for male students, and a pair of scuffed brown loafers. The high collar of the uniform was bent and wrinkled, never having once been touched by an iron. Her face didn't carry even a hint of makeup. While she didn't have bad skin by any means, it wasn't there to hide the subtle hints of blemishes or give her pale complexion a radiant glow like it did for the other girls.

"Um…" She started, looking every bit as bewildered as the boys.

"Never mind." Rise sighed. "I guess I'll be on double duty."

Yosuke lifted his head from his hands and turned to Yu. "Man, I guess the system worked against us, huh? Looks like we don't have a choice." He smiled sheepishly. "Look, I'll make it up to you guys, I promise. Steak skewers at Junes, on me. For the next week! Just for one little event!"

Yu just shook his head in defeat. Talk about a weird event. Every year Yasogami High School held a Culture Festival, which was meant to be a collection of days where the students worked together to showcase their talent and creativity, transforming their classrooms into fun and interesting venues of learning, at least in theory. What it really was, Yu suspected, was a week to let the teaching staff hang out in the break room to gossip, smoke cigarettes, and generally fuck about, because there certainly wasn't much supervision going on. Each classroom avoided any strictly educational projects and instead came up with things that only bored students stuck in school without any direction would come up with. The students of classroom 2-1 would put on a play, mashing together famous Shakespearean and modern movie scripts in what could only be described as an awkward parody of Romeo and Juliet meets Hamlet with giant robots. Class 1-2 would set up a fortune telling booth. Yu's homeroom, classroom 2-2, came up with the great idea of having a group date café. Exactly who would have the misfortune of walking in on that chamber of awkwardness he had no idea, but he felt sorry for them.

To compliment the occasion, the entire school was invited to attend a beauty pageant, provided there were contestants. Surprisingly the teachers were okay with this, since they must assume it gives kids the enjoyment they crave, and it gives the staff more time yet to fuck about. This is what Yosuke had the girls unwillingly involved in, thinking it would be an amusing joke, and that they could just opt-out if they wanted to. Unfortunately, the teaching staff didn't take too kindly to having their valuable gossip time taken away, so a new rule was put in place, "_no one shall withdraw from the pageant!"_ Talk about entrapment! This year though, presumably as a misguided attempt to embarrass the boys just as much as the girls, a new event was added: A cross-dressing pageant. Yes, with enough participants, a group of unwitting gentlemen could parade across a stage dressed as ladies, in a brutal social crucifixion at the hands of the entire mass of raging, immature high school kids.

There had to be a way out of this. If Yu just put his head down and thought about it, he was sure to come up with something. Not showing up wasn't an option. He couldn't leave Yosuke hanging, and the four of them would surely get big fat marks off of their attendance, as well as the continued ire of their teachers for the remainder of the year. Not to mention the girls would surely find another, more painful way to enact their retribution in the future.

He couldn't suddenly become ill. His uncle Dojima was bringing his little cousin Nanako to the Culture Festival today, God help them. Since he was living with them for the duration of his stay in Inaba, they would surely find out he was faking, and little Nanako would be extremely upset. He didn't know why, but the thought of his cheerful little cousin getting upset at him made his heart sink a bit in his chest. Maybe it was the way she always looked up at him with those big smiling brown eyes as he walked in the door after school and greeted him with a gleeful "Welcome home, big bro!" as if her day could finally start now that he was home. The poor girl was alone at the house so often because of Dojima's long hours at the police station, he could imagine the feeling.

No, that wouldn't do. He'd have to come up with something else. Finding a replacement? Not in the cards. Appeal to the teachers? That wouldn't go over well with the girls. Sabotage the event? There was something… but how? What would he have to do to cancel such an important event to the teachers? The gears in his brain started to turn rapidly. Yes, that's it… He would have to find someone to cause some kind of chaos that would allow the event to be cancelled, like a power outage or a break in a water line. It wouldn't be their fault if something happened that was out of their control! The girls couldn't protest! The four guys would treat them to a nice meal at Junes and it would all be water under the bridge.

The only question was, who did they know that was close enough to help pull off a stunt like this, but also didn't have to show up to the event itself? Who could he convince to go along with his plan? Who was mischievous enough, but was also enough of a wildcard that the teachers wouldn't suspect, or even know about? Wait… of course!

* * *

"I've got it!" Yu exclaimed. "Teddie! Teddie will help us create a distraction! He doesn't have to be here, he's not even a student at our school!"

"What?" Yosuke whipped around, his single small pigtail bobbed on his head, held in place by an adorable strawberry scrunchie. He smelled vaguely of lilacs, and all of a sudden, rage. "That's a great idea dude, wish you would have brought it up _three hours ago!" _He yelled, waving his left arm through the air angrily. His right arm was busy pulling at the plaid miniskirt he was wearing, trying in vain to make it cover more of his exposed thighs than it currently did.

"_Crap." _Sure enough, he was standing next to Yosuke, Kanji, and Teddie behind the stage of the school auditorium, each of them done up in their own way to look as close to pretty ladies as they could possibly get. The curtains were decorated appropriately, adorned with pink hearts and flower cutouts, while the stage was lined with vases containing even more flowers. He could hear the dull roar of hundreds of bored, restless high school students through the curtains, probably waiting impatiently for the few kids who would be the targets of every insult and prank performed for the remainder of the year. This was a nightmare.

The host of the pageant, a member of the faculty whom Yu assumed drew the short straw this year, couldn't be said to be giving it less than his all. He was dressed in a sharp looking suit complete with a bright red goofy bow tie and silly glasses, and a pink wig to top it all off. Yes, this man definitely lost a bet, or his job was on the line if this was the level he was bringing himself to. The man stood in the middle of the stage trying to warm up the crowd, but his words were getting lost amongst the yelling and jeering of the crowd.

In the next few minutes, which seemed more to Yu like hours, the host brought each contestant onto the stage like an executioner dragging a death row prisoner up to the noose. He would then ask the contestant a question, before moving on to the next. First up, was Yosuke.

The second year student hung his head low, shuffled out from behind the curtain, and was immediately welcomed by loud gasps, followed by waves of deafening laughter. His outfit, courtesy of Chie, had a very 'summery' flavor to it. A tan sweater over a collared white blouse complimented the boy's auburn hair, which wasn't quite long enough to fit into one semi-convincing pigtail. His right hand continued to pull down at his skirt, trying to no avail to hide his exposed legs, which were only covered from the knee down with long black socks. Man, Chie really outdid herself on this one. Yosuke looked absolutely miserable, unable to tear his gaze from the tops of his feet. Cries of "No! My eyes!" and "Oh my God, it's too horrible!" rose out of the sea of laughter. Yu though for a second that his friend had some certain feminine features to his face, but the make-up only served to make his masculine ones that much more apparent, like his square jaw and prominent brow. It made the whole outfit even more jarring.

The host tried for a minute to calm everyone down, before telling them a bit about Yosuke, complimenting him on his outfit, and asking if he dressed like that often, to which the boy responded with a shaky yet indignant "H-hell no!" only triggering more laughter. Then it was Kanji's turn.

Kanji lumbered onto the stage clumsily, looking far from a woman, rather more like a gorilla attempting to disguise himself as a human female. He was wearing a white form-fitting dress, which his six-foot three muscular frame was trying desperately to burst out of. His legs wobbled and buckled under him as he tried to walk with his high heels clomping loudly on the wooden floor. The hair-sprayed blond perm on top of his head remained solid as a rock despite the disturbance. His makeup was obviously a rush job, a result of Rise trying to take on two cross-dressers at once. She would be spending most of her time on her Senpai, naturally. Lipstick appeared to be applied more around the boy's lips than actually on them, and the blue eye shadow was laid on so thick and heavy that it was no wonder his eyelids were stuck in a dull, half-closed position.

One time not too long ago, Kanji had taken on an entire biker gang with nothing but his bare hands. And he had _won._ Apparently it was because they were making too much noise outside of his mother's textile shop while they were in town, and if there was one thing that set Kanji off it was someone upsetting his mother. The first-year's reputation was almost legendary. He was not someone you wanted to piss off, let alone point and laugh at maniacally. But that is exactly what happened when this lanky giant shuffled into the spotlight, his gaze downcast, humiliated. Strength in numbers, Yu supposed. Or did the laughter stem from relief? Was it from seeing this once feared high-school roughneck, the one even the cops thought twice before approaching, reduced to a joke, his reputation forever tarnished?

Kanji arrived at his position beside Yosuke, the daughter of Marilyn Monroe and Frankenstein's monster next to Little Mister Strawberry. As horrible as he felt for the two of them, and for himself, he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Kanji let out a gruff "Hey" and the audience exploded into laughter. He looked dismally down at the stage. Yu knew Kanji well, he put on a tough exterior but he was probably the sweetest kid at Yasogami High once you got to know him. He was obviously traumatized, the poor bastard.

After the host managed to get a few stumbling words out of Kanji, he began to introduce the next participant. Yu felt the lump he had been carrying in his throat for the past hour or so expand to the point where he could hardly breathe. His mouth went dry. His heart felt like it was trying to drive its way out of his chest, each thudding beat echoing loudly in his skull. _"Come on, Yu," _he thought to himself, _"You've been fighting nightmarish shadows in the depths of the TV world all this time and you can't handle _this?" Well, he didn't have to wear a dress while fighting shadows. Besides, that's where he was truly in his element. "_You're fine, unflappable as ever. Keep your cool, and this thing will be over before you know it. Then you can have a laugh with the girls at how embarrassed Yosuke was." _

"Miss Yu Narukami!" The host yelled to an uproar of applause. It appeared the students were now having a blast.

He couldn't blame Rise for trying. She had spent much more time on him than Kanji, and it showed. He wore a black school girl outfit, one of the standard issues at the high school, with a cute yellow scarf tied loosely around his neck, knee high black stockings, and a pair of shiny black shoes. Rise used minimal makeup, to his relief, but the best part about the outfit had to be the hair extensions. She managed to find a set of giant braids that matched his silver hair color perfectly. They connected to the bottom of his hair seamlessly in the back, and rested on his shoulders like two big pieces of gray rope. To accessorize, Rise had gone to the antique weapons store in the shopping district and picked him up a sleek looking wooden katana, which he rested on his shoulder. This was possibly a caring gesture to make Yu feel a bit more comfortable with the whole ordeal, since he generally wielded a katana while taking on shadows inside the television. Or it could have been an ironic sense of humor. All in all, the outfit gave off the vibe of a spunky school girl samurai. Just what he always wanted to be… Yu supposed it could have been worse. Kanji looked more haphazard, and Yosuke looked more awkward. He swallowed the lump in his throat, took a deep breath, and began to walk out from backstage.

The laughter hit him like a wall, knocking him back and filling his ears with the sound of malicious triumph. He heard distinct voices through the din, "Oh God, make it stop!" and "Man, I really thought he was cooler than that." More laughing. He dragged himself over next to Kanji, who gave him a look that appeared to be embarrassment mixed with extreme anger. Now was not a good time to piss off Kanji. Yosuke was still staring at his feet, wincing and surely wanting someone to just end it all for him right then and there.

He took a look out at the audience. Most of them were on their feet, at least the ones who weren't doubled over and clutching their sides in laughing fits. They were standing on the level floor of the auditorium, which was normally the floor of the gymnasium where the basketball team practiced. Oh man… Kou was probably out there too, wondering what the hell his friend was thinking. He couldn't catch a glimpse of Chie, Rise, Yukiko or Naoto. The only things he could see were hundreds of cackling, jeering faces. This was so lame.

For most of his life, Yu had been a fairly reserved boy. Quiet and somewhat shy at first glance, he mostly kept to himself throughout grade school, only opening up to the few people he became close with. Those who knew him saw him as someone with exquisite self-control, and an ability to adapt quickly to most social situations. Despite his initial shyness, Yu had always been full of a certain kind of confidence that was apparent to those that knew him. It wasn't the typical kind, the kind one "musters up" when faced with an intimidating situation. It was more like the ability to be okay with uncertainty, to let come what may without dwelling too much on the consequences. This was undoubtedly an attitude that he had picked up from his stepfather, who had been a mentor to the boy since his mother remarried some time before he became a teenager.

The man whom he now called his father was a tall, weathered looking gentleman with dark hair and a youthful energy that defied his true age. He was a successful businessman, and was used to standing in front of crowds many times the size of the one in this high school gymnasium. Yu, however, was not. Never had he stood in front of this many people for any occasion, let alone one as ridiculous as this. His special kind of confidence, at least this time, would have to be "mustered".

_"Alright," _he thought. _"Just relax. There's a way to make this better for yourself. Any situation can be better. It's all in the way you approach it." _Sweat rolled down his forehead. The wooden handle of his mock katana was beginning to become harder to hold on to with the amount of liquid that sat in his palms. _"Think of the Velvet Room. What does Igor ask you to do? Focus. Let nothing else bother you." _He tried to imagine the walls of the limousine creeping up and closing around him, the bright stage lights dimming to a soft blue glow. The hum of the engine, the slight tinkling of vibrating champagne glasses in the bar. The familiar faces sitting in a semicircle in front of him, Marie, Igor, Margaret. Margaret with her book open in her lap, and Igor placing tarot cards on the table, preparing the ritual… _"Focus."_

Yu smiled a cocky, if awkward grin. This strategy actually seemed to be working! The roaring crowd became the sound of the engine, their faces were the fog outside the windows. The sweat began to lift off of his brow, and he gradually started to feel lighter. The katana, which just a moment ago felt like it was trying to bury itself into his clavicle, became comfortable. He surveyed the crowd once more. "_You all look so small from up here," _he thought to himself. "_Like a bunch of little laughing monkeys._

_ "Inaba… A small town full of small people." _He was unable to contain a slight chuckle at this. "_That's something Dad would say, isn't it? God dammit, I must look ridiculous!" _His face grew brighter, while inside his head he burst into a fit of laughter. What else would his father say? "_Let 'em laugh, show a little vulnerability, that way they feel at ease." _That familiar voice boomed in his head, carrying its usual notes of a subtle, unexpected charisma._ "Before long you'll have 'em in the palm of your hand, and you can get whatever you want from them! You're the King of Inaba, baby!" _He felt calm wash over him. His eyelids lowered and his lips pulled back into a satisfied grin. The lump in his throat had completely vanished.

He noticed the host turning to him, looking even more ridiculous close up in that vibrant pink wig. "Well, _Narukami-chan_, it sounds like the crowd is in quite an uproar over you!" His voice echoed out over the speakers, as the room grew quieter. "Tell me then, who signed you up? Was it a dare? Was it a lost bet? Was it forced upon you by your friends?" He started to push the microphone in Yu's direction, but stopped, and brought it back as he thought of something else to say. "Or could it be," he continued, chuckling, "That you signed _yourself_ up?" Snickers and loud mumbling could be heard from different parts of the auditorium at the prospect of someone actually _volunteering_ for this madness. The host grinned and lowered the microphone to the front of the boy's face.

Yu stared out into the crowd with an exceptionally relaxed look in his eyes, a cocky half smile stuck on his face. He then leaned into the microphone. "Damn straight I did," he said, without a hint of shame in his voice.

* * *

The front gate of Yasogami high school was probably the most peaceful place to be at the moment, since all the students were packed into the auditorium at the far side of the building. Except for a cool autumn breeze sifting through the brightly colored leaves of the trees surrounding the school, all was quiet. It was a much needed contrast to the cacophony of the Culture Festival events, and the perfect place for Yu to take a breather and calm his nerves. He sat on the stairs leading up to the glass doors of the entrance, legs spread apart, leaning on his knees. His wooden katana was held loosely in his left hand, the blade resting on a stair just below his feet. His skirt billowed in the wind, and his pigtails danced on his shoulders.

He had created quite a racket with his comment on the stage, the crowd of teenagers letting out a simultaneous "OoooooOOOOOoooo!" before exploding into laughter. Yosuke and Kanji had looked up at him with utter confusion in their heavily shadowed eyes. Then Teddie had come on after, and had been the one to truly steal the show. He pulled off looking like a female the most successfully, and bounded onstage with such confidence that Yu couldn't help but feel a little… jealous? Regardless, the whole ordeal had ended uneventfully and soon enough it was the girls' turn to be in the spotlight. Yosuke appeared to lighten up when he and Kanji left the stage, eager to change back into normal clothes and get into the audience so he could gawk at the ladies with the rest of the hormone-crazed teenagers. He even took a jab at Kanji about wanting to see Naoto in a swimsuit, because he knew it made the lumbering teen squirm. Kanji's face had turned a deep shade of crimson, sweat beaded up on his forehead and he began to stutter something along the lines of "I-it's n-n-not like that, man!" although it was fairly incomprehensible, and mainly under his breath.

It was then that Yu received a text message from his uncle Dojima, telling him that he was with Nanako, walking over to the school to check out the festival, and that they were a few minutes away. Yu panicked, and before Yosuke could tell him that he was going to miss the beauty pageant, or before Kanji could warn him that he was still wearing women's clothing, the silver-haired cross-dresser bolted behind the stage and down the empty hallway leading to the front entrance.

Of course, his anxiety had been all for nothing. He should have known better. It wasn't unlike Dojima to tell him he was almost there, when in fact he was still at least two miles away, most likely. It was his Uncle's way of making sure Yu wasn't a second late. It was just as well, he supposed, as he didn't mind having a moment away from everybody else, even if it meant he would be missing the whole reason he was involved in the first place. He found that he had little interest in that kind of thing, anyway. He knew what would happen, each of the girls would walk onto the stage one by one, getting a round of hoots and cheers from the boys, and silent eye rolling followed by gossipy whispers from the girls. Chie would walk on timidly, probably sweating and tapping her foot, trying to make moves for the nearest exit. Yukiko would present an air of confidence but would ultimately end up stumbling over her words when the microphone got to her. Rise… Rise would be Risette. She would treat the whole event for what it was, a popularity contest in which she was the queen. She would probably blow lots of kisses that would make the boys melt and send the girls into fits of jealous rage.

Then there was Naoto… Actually, he wasn't entirely sure how Naoto would handle things. He couldn't see her putting any effort into her own presentation. She would probably be un-ironically wearing boy's clothing, maybe her heavy detective coat, and definitely her blue cabbie hat. She would come out, stand there awkwardly and give one-word answers to whatever the host had to ask her. She would likely be the most purposefully bland contestant of the four, and she would still give Kanji a nosebleed.

Yasogami High School sat on a hilltop at the northeast end of Inaba. From here, Yu could see the flood plains stretching out below him, the park benches mostly empty except for one, in which sat an old man holding what appeared to be his calico cat in his lap. Someone else was fishing in the river nearby, and further along the banks he could barely make out an elderly couple taking an early afternoon stroll together. Past the flood plains was the small cluster of apartments and stores of the main shopping district. It was hard to make out anything from there, but he was sure it wasn't too busy right now. Beyond that, there was a smattering of small neighborhoods, one of them containing his Uncle's home, and then nothing but farmland and miles of green, rolling hills. This really was a small town. _"...F__ull of small people..."_

_"Shut up, Dad."_

He glanced down again at the riverbanks. On the path just up the hill near the river, two figures were walking out from under the shade of a tree with bright orange leaves. One of them was taller, he was wearing a bright red tie and was holding a coat with one hand as it draped over his shoulder. His other hand was attached to the arm of the other figure's, a much smaller one wearing a pink outfit and carrying a backpack. Yu smiled. It was about time they got here.

Just then, there was a sound behind him that made him jump slightly. The door to the front entrance had been banged open. Yu turned around and saw someone scuffle outside, tightening their high-collared navy coat as a breeze blew past, and securing a blue cabbie hat onto their head with a quick tug of the bill. It was Naoto, and she barely noticed Yu as she proceeded to drop herself down on a step at the opposite side of the stairway in a nervous fashion. Reaching into her pocket, she withdrew a white envelope, and began to examine it intently, squinting at its surface, holding it up to the sunlight to try and see what was silhouetted inside. Had she even realized there was someone else out here?

Yu watched her for a moment, unsure if he should break her out of her intense focus. Then he spoke up.

"Hey," he said, somewhat stupidly.

She jumped, quickly stuffing the envelope inside of her coat instinctively, and whipping her head around to face him. Her blue-grey eyes darted around his body, trying to determine if she recognized this individual, this… girl?

"Ah…" she spoke, "Excuse me, I didn't realize there was someone else here." She began to stand up. "I'll just be on my—" Her eyes suddenly widened in recognition.

Yu stared at her, eyebrows lifted with a lopsided grin on his face, finding this whole situation incredibly amusing.

"S-Senpai! It's you!" She exclaimed after a moment of pause, her voice pitching up an octave. "Why on earth are you dressed like that?"

"Well, you know, the fall weather can be _oh_ so chilly on the knees, so I've decided to switch to a longer skirt today," he joked, his voice _also_ pitching up an octave. Maybe two.

Naoto, for a brief instant, became even more confused, before her wits returned to her and she gave him a hint of a smile, mostly ignoring his silly comment. "Of course… the cross-dressing pageant. I'm sorry I missed it, but we were busy preparing for the _other _pageant." There was no disguising the sour tone she gave to the end of that sentence.

"Yeah." Yu's voice returned to normal. "Which begs the question… why are you out here when you should be in the auditorium? Isn't that happening right now?"

"It is." She sat back down on the stairs, this time a bit closer to him. She let out a sigh, dropping her chin to her chest, so that her collar obscured most of her face. "I… couldn't do it. I got too embarrassed, and snuck out from backstage."

"Wow… so you just ran away and that was that?" He thought of the marks she would get on her attendance, and the importance she always put on being punctual and getting good grades. He also noticed her jaw clenching slightly after she heard the words 'ran away'.

"I just couldn't do it. I can't just stand in front of a crowd and look pretty like Rise-chan and Yukiko-senpai. Besides, the whole endeavor strikes me as being fairly sexist, anyway."

Yu tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Guess I can't argue with that."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know it's only fair considering what we put you all through, even though Yosuke-san was clearly the only guilty one. It must have been nerve-wracking." She glanced once again at Yu's outfit, giving him an awkward look of sympathy.

"Well, it _was_ pretty rough. But don't worry about it." He grinned at her.

She gave a light chuckle. "You are always extraordinarily collected about things like this, Yu-san." _Heh, I wish… _"It's no wonder they made you the leader."

"I guess." The smile slowly faded from Yu's lips, and he turned his head down to the ground. He brushed a small pebble out from between his feet with the blade of his wooden katana. It flew out and bounced a few times on the pavement below before disappearing into the bushes. Naoto eyed him intently.

Yu looked out at the landscape below. He could see the figures of Dojima and Nanako reaching the base of the hill to the school. They would be at the steps in a few minutes. Lately he and Naoto hadn't had too much time to talk, at least since the time at the hospital. Tests were coming up, so Yu was forced to spend a lot of his time studying, between working part time jobs as a hospital janitor or a tutor. He did get brief moments after school occasionally when the group would meet for dinner at Junes. There they would talk mainly about schoolwork, gossip, or about the currently stagnating investigation into the midnight channel murders. There were no leads at the time to work from. That is, until Yu received a sinister warning letter at the Dojima residence one night after work. He found it sitting on the table near the front door, with his name written in blue writing. Nanako must have brought it in from outside earlier that day. It was contained in a minimal white envelope, and it read simply "Don't rescue anyone else." The sender's name or a return address were nowhere to be found. Naoto had mentioned later that it wasn't much to go off of, other than whoever wrote it obviously had Yu's address. It made him uneasy, but Yu decided to try and put it out of his mind for now and focus on schoolwork until anything else came up.

During this time, his visits to the Velvet Room became less frequent as his persona abilities began to stagnate along with the investigation. He had little reason to attend unless he was participating in a fusion ritual. Plus, as much as he enjoyed seeing Marie, Margaret had once told him that the bond he had formed with her had reached the peak of its power, and he could no longer draw energy from it to strengthen his personas at the moment. So, even though he liked the moody teen's company, and was glad to help her escape the boredom of the blue limousine from time to time, he had more important things to attend to. This didn't stop the residents from nagging him like a couple of overbearing parents about strengthening his bonds and being diligent in his training. Until he received the warning letter, he took the advice, as usual, with a grain of salt. Now though, his resolve had slowly come back to him as he realized he should be prepared for anything.

The moment of silence between the two lingered for a bit too long, before Naoto finally spoke. "Actually, Senpai, it's good that you are here."

Yu turned to her inquisitively, having been busy rolling pebbles around on the ground with the end of his sword. She hesitated for a second, unsure if she should have spoken up at all. Then she reached into her coat and withdrew the envelope.

"I found this in my locker as I was leaving the pageant. It appears to be a note of some kind."

"A challenge to a duel?" Yu asked dryly, sounding almost like he was genuinely convinced it was the case.

Naoto snorted and burst out laughing, taking Yu by complete surprise. It was rare to get even a small chuckle out of her, let alone full-on laughter. This was definitely a sight he'd never seen before, and all over a joke that he thought would be charmingly corny, at best. As she covered her mouth with the back of her hand and bent over, trying to stifle the laugh as best she could, he noticed how… different she looked with a full, genuine smile across her face.

"You—Haha! You certainly are old fashioned, aren't you?"

Yu's big dumb grin returned. Naoto calmed herself finally and cleared her throat.

"Ahem. No, no I highly doubt that's the case," she sniffed lightly and collected herself once more. "At first I thought it was some kind of love letter. I have received those in the past, although I generally pay them no mind."

"No?" Yu asked, "Why not?"

"Because I have no time for callow love affairs," she replied quickly and indignantly. "I assume it's the same for you?"

"Hm. Yeah I guess." Was that true? Yu knew that he enjoyed getting a love letter sometimes. Whether or not he felt the need to follow up on it, it always made him feel good, at least.

"Anyway… it is very uncharacteristic of a love letter, there is no frilly writing, no hearts, and my name isn't written on it..."

"_Hearts…? Does she get love letters from both guys _and _girls?"_

"Besides, from what I can see through the envelope, it may be a photo of some kind." She held the envelope up to the sun once again, as if to make sure she was right the first time.

"So…" Yu said, thoughtfully, "You think it might have something to do with the investigation?"

She nodded. "Precisely. The culprit knows that I have been working on the case. It makes sense that they would be able to track down my whereabouts, even more sense than it would with you and your warning letter.

"I thought that you would be interested in seeing what's inside. Besides, I trust your judgment more than the others, currently. It would be good to have someone to discuss this with."

"Right." It was a roundabout method, but he actually felt that the detective might have been paying him a compliment, in her own little way.

Suddenly, he felt the wheel of fate hitch and begin to turn slowly. In his mind, Clotho was preparing the threads to be spun. Her cold, unblinking eyes stared out at him, peered into his soul as she spoke to him in a hollow, listless voice, "_The bonds must be strengthened…"_

He waved at Nanako and Dojima, who were almost at the front gates. Dojima lifted his hand and waved back awkwardly; unsure of whom this tall, grey haired girl was greeting them at the stairs to the entrance.

"Ah, detective Dojima and little Nanako-chan!" Naoto exclaimed, and then turned to Yu with a disappointed look in her eyes. "I see you have another engagement… perhaps another time?"

"Nah, they are just here to see the Culture Festival. We can get together after school gets out to discuss it." He stood up, his skirt and pigtails catching a gust of autumn air. He placed his katana back on his shoulder. "Until then, why don't you help me give these two a tour?"

Naoto looked up at him and nodded, a little worried but more than a little interested as to what Dojima and Nanako would have to say about his outfit. "Very well. We'll talk afterwards, then."

The velvet room crept back up into his vision. He saw Igor with cards laid out on the table in front of him, and Margaret waiting expectantly with that massive book open in her lap. She smiled and winked at him, while the old man next to her nodded and grinned… Just grinned at him with that impossibly large mouth full of bright white teeth. "_Alright old man, I know. I'll be back there soon to create a new persona for you."_

Then, as if it was a subconscious response to the residents' expectant gazes, the image of Naoto's face just a minute ago as she burst into a fit of laughter entered his mind. For no apparent reason, and to his own surprise, something made him pause as if an insect or piece of debris had just flew by his head, his brain trying to come up with a quick rationalization before writing it off as unimportant. For a moment so fleeting there was barely time to notice, he felt a burning hot resentment towards Igor and that god damned blue room.

* * *

**Alright, alright, so let me explain. This chapter was originally going to be twice as long and contain much more actual plot events, but after writing half of it I decided I was much too lazy to keep going right now. I promise the story picks up soon and becomes much more interesting, also deviating from the original plot much more than it has.**

**For those of you nice enough to read through the whole thing, if I could trouble you for a review that would be great! Good, bad, whatever as long as it's constructive I'll take it. Can you get some idea of Yu's character with this chapter? Can you see where things might be headed? Any technical/writing critiques?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Miss Universe, part two

As the blinding flash subsided, Yu was able to refocus his vision on the spinning card in front of him. The walls of the limousine's interior came back into focus, the hum of the engine returned and the pale blue faces of the Velvet Room's residents appeared normal again. The ritual was complete. The spinning card slowed and Igor once again plucked it out of the air with his thumb and forefinger. "This," he said with an impressive amount of enthusiasm, "Is Lachesis. Do you see her within your soul?"

"Yeah," Yu said, entranced by the image on the card, the image of a woman with braided blonde hair and red clothing, staring at him with the same soulless gaze as the one before.

"She is the one who measures the threads, spun by her sister, that will determine a person's fate." Igor chuckled. "I see that your power is steadily growing, my boy. You may in fact become the one who can reach through the fog of deception and learn the truth…" The card vanished from his hand in a second flash of light. Margaret scribbled something furiously in her open book.

"That's good to hear," Yu said with an unconvincing smile. He was surprised he made it through today's ritual, as he felt especially unfocused. His thoughts kept returning to what happened earlier. It wasn't uncommon for someone to expose to Yu their deeper secrets or insecurities during the progression of the bond. But what was unexpected was something that came dangerously close to happening… he'd almost slipped up, almost found himself exposing a weak spot. A reversal in that sense he knew would have ruined everything.

Igor flooded his face with a toothy grin. "I certainly look forward to what comes from your soul the next time we meet."

"Me too, Igor," Yu said and then gave a light laugh. "I'm tired, though, it's been a long day. I'll see you guys next time."

He started to fade out of the room, when Marie called out, "Hey, punk. You owe me steak skewers! Or did you forget already?" She sat up with her arms crossed, an intimidating glare aimed at his half-opaque features.

"Ah." His voice had become more faint, distant. He responded nervously, "N-no, I didn't forget, Marie. Soon enough, I promise." Then, he was gone.

Margaret turned to the old man, whose grin had shrunk behind his folded, gloved hands. "Did you sense what I sensed?" She asked. "A diminished resolve?"

"I did," he responded, the jovial tone in his voice replaced with a sinister calm.

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know." He almost snapped at her. "All I do know is that if our guest walks down the wrong path in his quest, he will no longer be welcome here in this room."

A look of concern crossed the woman's face. It was coupled with a feeling of understanding… She knew what the terms of the contract entailed. Looking back down at her book, she spoke softly, "I hope it doesn't come to that."

"Indeed," he murmured. His smile had now vanished completely.

* * *

**October 30****th****, After School**

_TAP TAP TAP_

"_No marks or impressions on the outside…"_

_TAP TAP_

"_The surface is in fact clean and bright white; this appears to be a brand new envelope."_

_TAP TAP TAP_

"_It seems to have been sealed in a hurry…"_

_TAP TAP TAP TAP_

"Aren't you going to open it?"

Naoto's eyes shot up to meet Yu's, which were currently fixed on the detective with a sharp curiosity. She was hunched over the picnic table, her chin resting on her forearm, while her other hand held the envelope by the corner. The bottom of it rested on the wooden surface where she had been tapping it repeatedly, examining it for what Yu thought to be almost five minutes.

Clearing her throat and sitting up abruptly, her eyes quickly slipped away from his gaze. She had always been what her grandfather had called a 'close reader', which meant that she tended to hover her face as close to the page as possible, as if each word contained a thousand more within itself. Her favorite way to read, in fact, was to set a book up on a table in front of her, cross her arms over the bottom of the page, lean her body forward and place her chin right on top of her arms, inches away from the text. She would stay this way for hours on end. Sure it wasn't the most efficient method, or the most ergonomic (it had been one of the main causes of her struggle with proper posture, after all), but it was her way and she liked doing it. Besides, her grandfather sometimes mentioned that it was a sign of a meticulous detective.

"So why were you tapping it against the table? It's easier to get it out through the top, you know."

Sometimes she had trouble discerning whether Yu had an odd sense of humor, or was just that dense. He had little in his tone of voice that would differentiate.

"Apologies," she said, "I was trying to see if there was anything else hidden around or behind the photograph. Something potentially dangerous, perhaps." She met his eyes a second time, only to find hers once again darting off to the side. Reaching up, she pulled up on the collar of her undershirt in a nervous fashion.

"Everything ok?" He asked, noticing her fidgeting anxiously.

"Yes… it's just that-" She hesitated briefly, "Well, Yu-san… you had plenty of time to change after school ended, so why is it that you are still dressed like that?"

He glanced down at his attire, and confirmed that he was indeed still wearing the Yasogami High girl's uniform Rise had made him for the festival. He sat opposite Naoto at a picnic table, facing away from her as he leaned back with his elbows on the tabletop. His legs were spread apart, heels dug into the grass, and the cool breeze felt oddly refreshing as it rushed up under his heavy cotton skirt. His wooden katana was propped up beside him.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," he replied. Since his mild triumph of willpower at the Culture Festival, he had almost completely forgotten that he was wearing it. "You know to be honest, it's surprisingly comfortable."

"Perhaps it is a bit more 'freeing'," she said, with a nervous smile that seemed to be uncertain of whether or not to be a frown. "It doesn't seem that comfortable to me, though."

"You know that reminds me..." The boy tilted his head back to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "Naoto-kun, how do you convince people so easily that you're not a girl?"

Not at all prepared for a question like that, although in hindsight she realized she should have been. She sat up a little too straight, looking slightly irritated.

"Hm? What are you asking me for Narukami-san? Are you seeking advice?"

"I was just wondering, I guess. Even though Rise and Chie tried their hardest, I don't think we could've fooled anyone who cared to give us a second glance. But you had us all convinced from the start. I was surprised. _Kanji _was surprised to find out. Yet now that we all know the real _you_, I don't think we could ever see you as anything other than you. The girl you. Know what I mean?"

"The 'real' me? _Hmph_." Naoto folded her arms in front of her chest. "I've always preferred to dress this way, although I can remember a time when I wasn't strictly wearing men's clothing. But to answer your question, the key item is probably the cologne."

"The cologne…?" Yu absently played with one of his braids while he looked at her curiously.

"Yes. Scent is linked closely to memory and recognition. It's just as important as the visual aspect of a disguise. If someone is suspicious of my appearance, the scent of men's cologne can often convince them subconsciously." She answered matter-of-factly, but couldn't hide the tint of embarrassment that crept up onto her cheeks. "Of course, I stopped wearing it after the whole school found out. It seemed pointless after that. Besides, I myself am not particularly fond of the odor."

"Cologne… huh…" Yu repeated in a thoughtful voice, as if he had reached some kind of personal epiphany.

"Mm. I can give you all the tips you want after we take care of the task at hand, Yu-san. Although I suspect Dojima-san would not approve of your cross-dressing habits."

Yu laughed out loud and turned back to face away from the table. "It's not like that, really."

He sighed and gazed up at the sky above them, streaks of clouds drifted by painted with orange and magenta hues by the setting sun. He could hear the sounds of the water rushing by near the riverbank below them. It was lighter sounding than usual, a sign that it had calmed after several days without rain.

The two of them had arrived at the flood plains after saying goodbye to Nanako and Dojima when they had finished their tour of the Culture Festival. It had all gone very smoothly, Nanako had been as wide-eyed and interested as he expected, even considering the randomness and utter laziness of some of the presentations. She had even said that Yu looked like a pretty lady in his dress, causing him to give her an awkward 'thanks?' and mention that she should give that message to Rise-chan. Dojima felt the need at one point to tell the boy to change back into his normal clothes or else… but decided to forget it and wrote off the wardrobe as something kids these days might be into.

Afterwards, finding a secluded spot under a gazebo in the plains wasn't too hard. Most of the kids would simply pass right by after school, as the majority of them hung out in the shopping district or around the Junes department store. Here Yu took a second to relax and admire the tranquility of the afternoon sunset. It was nice having this time to recharge after a long day at school, if only for a brief moment. He was here for business, after all, on more than one account.

It was hard to ignore the connection between this white envelope Naoto held in her hand and the warning letter he had received only days ago. This was one reason for his interest. In both situations there was no writing on the outside, and the paper was in mint condition, as if it had been sealed shortly before dropping it off. But perhaps just as important as this new development, he was here to reach a new level of trust with the detective. A personal connection, one that would allow him to peel away the layers of her thick emotional shell and unlock new doors of power within himself. How he went about this was the tricky part. But, he had secured bonds with others before with relative ease, and now he knew the procedure fairly well. First, he would get a sense of her personality, her struggles, what drives her. This part was considerably easier after witnessing her shadow in the TV world, it gave him insight into the aspects of her being that she would never disclose to anyone. It was through her shadow that he first learned of her true gender, which she kept hidden under men's clothing and a slightly deeper tone of voice. And it was where he saw first hand her struggle to be taken seriously by an oppressive, unjust society that ignored her simply for being a child, or being female. This struggle was at the root of her personality, one that Yu could expand on if needed. Second, he would have to assume the role of the person she wanted him to be. Then eventually, the person she _needed_ him to be. So today, he would be 'detective Yu'. And he would be detective Shirogane's trusty sidekick.

Bracing himself with the katana as a pivot, he spun himself around and dropped his legs under the picnic table to face Naoto. "Right," he said. "Let's get down to business."

Naoto nodded. "Then let me quickly go over what we know before we open the envelope, considering it could contain some kind of dangerous substance." She tapped it lightly on the tabletop once more.

"It appeared in my locker sometime between lunch and early afternoon. I know this because I go to my locker regularly after lunch, and there was nothing there at the time."

"So it was obviously someone who wasn't attending the culture festival." Yu added.

"Right. They could have been using the event as an opportunity to sneak a letter in without being spotted. This could easily mean that our culprit is not a student, as there would be no one near the entrance to witness a stranger coming in.

"Then there is the haphazard seal, the lack of any markings and the pristine condition of the envelope. This leads me to believe that it was put together in a hurry and without much forethought."

"Just like my warning letter."

"Except for the contents, of course, which appears to be some kind of photograph instead of a written letter."

"But why would the murderer leave a photo…" Yu trailed off as several thoughts crossed his mind. There could be many possibilities, but naturally the direst were the ones that came to the forefront. A photo of the next victim; A photo of a _current_ victim, taunting them; A photo of a previous victim? Saki Konishi, the wavy-haired high schooler whose body was found contorted, tangled in a television antenna. Mayumi Yamano, the famous reporter dangling upside down from a telephone pole. The pictures scrawled with the sinister words "You're next!"

"We won't know until we see it." Naoto replied calmly. "From the condition of the envelope, and from what I've gathered from trying to see inside, there doesn't appear to be anything harmful about it."

"So let's open it."

Naoto gazed down at the item in her hands. "Alright," she said. "The moment of truth."

She held the envelope with her left hand, and with her right began to use her thumb to push up the unsealed part of the opening. Careful not to tear the paper, she slowly slid her thumb under the seal and broke it. Using her thumb and forefinger, she lightly pinched the very edge of the protruding photograph. If there were a pair of tweezers available, she surely would have used them to prevent any unneeded marks. The photo slid out of the envelope, and she held it in front of her, staring down at it with a look of confusion.

Yu watched her face tighten, her eyes squint and her brows lower, her lips pursed together tightly. She was in full concentration, and he would have been hesitant to interrupt her if his anticipation wasn't currently gnawing at him painfully.

"Well?" He asked impatiently.

"It's…" Her eyes were locked on the item in her hands "It's… a postcard!" She exclaimed, with notes of both frustration and relief.

"A postcard?" He repeated, bewildered.

She turned the envelope around showed him what she had held against it. Sure enough, printed on glossy 4'3" cardstock was a photo with the words 'Greetings from the historic town of Inaba!' in bold, colorful font across the top left corner. The whole town was shown in the photo, taken from a high vantage point nearby, one of the higher hills on the outskirts most likely. From here, the town looked even smaller.

"The hell…?" Yu shifted forward, squinting and throwing one of his 'pigtails' over his shoulder. "What's this about?"

Naoto placed the envelope and the postcard on the table where they both could see it. "This is a photograph of Inaba. Although it's not Inaba as we know it today."

"What do you mean?"

"Judging by the quality of the photograph and the layout of the town- as you can see, the border hasn't yet extended over this hill here." She pointed to a low grassy hill on the far right side. "This photograph must have been taken sometime in the 1970's."

Yu looked even more confused. Then something caught his eye, and he wasn't sure how he had overlooked it before. Featured somewhat prominently in the foreground, on the hill where the photograph was taken from, was a strange building partially obscured by some trees. It was a white square-ish structure with a brick base, and it appeared to be about three stories high. Covering every inch of the roof were dozens of small satellite dishes of various heights and sizes. Behind the building was a large metal tower at least three times its height, standing on three legs that met at a point at the top.

He pointed at the structure. "This must be…"

"A television broadcast station." Naoto finished his sentence, her eyes lighting up. "Somewhat large for this small town. I didn't realize Inaba even _had _one of its own."

"Is it still around?"

"If so, it must not be operational. I find it hard to believe that a town of this size would have any need for its own station these days." She looked up, and began to scan the landscape around them. Yu joined in, and the two sat for a minute silently looking for any signs of a tower.

Suddenly, Yu pointed at the horizon. "There," he said. "That's the tower. Over on that hill behind the school."

She followed his arm. Behind Yasogami High School was a large green hill covered with trees. About three quarters of the way up was a metal tower rising up from the vegetation surrounding it.

"I remember seeing that from the window in the upstairs hallway, but I never really gave it a second thought," he said.

"Of course…" Naoto stroked her chin thoughtfully. "The high school wasn't built up to what it is now until the mid eighties. That's why we failed to see it in the photo. It must have looked like a completely different building back then."

"So what does this mean? The television station, the Midnight Channel… That connection is too obvious to ignore."

"Yes indeed it is, but-" The detective caught herself mid sentence, and looking somewhat flustered, she picked the postcard up and flipped it over. The back was mostly blank, no address, no stamp. Only some stock printed text and one word written messily in pen: "Table."

She stared intently at the writing for a brief moment, and then out of nowhere, her expression fell. She brought her hand up to her forehead and rested her elbow on the table, her body weight falling over it as she let out a heavy sigh. Yu stared at her, his eyes narrowing with confusion. He wasn't sure what to make of this uncharacteristic reaction.

"What is it? Are you okay?" He asked with genuine concern.

Naoto groaned. "This handwriting, it could only have been written by one person, whom I am very familiar with. Yakushiji-san." She slammed her free hand on the table next to the postcard. "Damn! How disappointing… I had hoped this would become an important lead."

"Hold on a minute," Yu protested. "Who is Yakushiji? And how is this not important?"

"Yakushiji-san," she responded dully, continuing to hold her forehead in her hand, appearing to talk to the tabletop instead of Yu, "Is my grandfather's secretary and friend from the Shirogane estate. I've known him since I was very young. There's no doubt in my mind that this is his handwriting. He's made no attempt to hide it."

"Well how do you know he is not trying to tell you something? What if he's in trouble?"

She looked up at him with an annoyed expression. "If he were in trouble, he would surely call me on my cell phone, the same one I talked to him on just before we left the culture festival. He certainly wouldn't go to ridiculous lengths like sending me a postcard with some obscure references to a TV station and a table. Besides, he's…" She sighed once again, casting her eyes down. "He's acting as my guardian. He accompanied me here to Inaba, so I see him frequently when he's not busy."

"Hmm." Yu stood the katana up between his legs and rested his hands on the butt of the handle. "Then why would he do it? There has to be a reason why he'd leave such a cryptic note in your school locker."

"My guess," Naoto leaned back in her seat and adjusted her cap, which had been moved into an awkward position, "Is that this is my grandfather's doing. He would sometimes orchestrate little crime solving games to keep me occupied as a child. Quite silly, really. He must know that I am no longer officially on a case, and think I'm bored. Honestly, the man is quite selfish. He is retired, and must have nothing better to do."

This surprised Yu. It wasn't like Naoto to write off a case this easily, and she was hardly one to back down from a challenge, at least he thought. She must have put up with this on numerous occasions when she was between cases, and it was all too familiar to her.

"Have you ever tried solving one?"

She chuckled at this. "Not since I was little. I'm usually very busy, and don't have time for these childish games.

"Look Senpai, I'm sorry to have dragged you out here for this. I'm sure you have a lot on your mind and we all have a case to solve. This would just be a pointless distraction, so let's just forget it."

"_Forget it, huh?"_

If he dropped this clue and let it fall to the wayside, what would happen? Yu suspected he would have to find another way to get close to Naoto, but it wouldn't be easy. Playing detective was speaking her language, it was on her wavelength, and it was the quickest way to form a bond. This would have been the perfect opportunity. If he could just find a way to make sure she stuck with this little 'distraction' just long enough to create some new personas…

It wasn't just for him though, he told himself. Naoto needed this… She needed something to take her mind off of work every so often, right? So with that, Yu decided to become _that_ person. The person she _needed_ him to be. But how would he approach it?

"_What, so you're just going to run from a challenge?" _No, too confrontational.

"_Come on, it could be fun!" _Nah, she wouldn't buy it.

"You're right."

She glanced up at him with a surprised look, apparently not expecting him to agree so easily.

"You're right, Naoto, we have a real case with real murders to solve. We don't have time for this kind of crap." He promptly stood from the table, returning his wooden katana to its usual resting place on his shoulder.

Remaining seated, she stared up at him from under the short bill of her hat, looking flustered. Something about the way he had said that- he didn't sound completely serious. "R-right…" she stammered, before regaining her composure. "That's absolutely right." She was about to stand, but she found her gaze returning to the back of the postcard.

Yu continued, "I mean, I can sleep without some kind of closure on a case as silly as this one. It's the big ones that matter to me, the important ones. Right Naoto-kun?"

She stared up at him with her mouth open, and suddenly she began to see what he was getting at. He _knew_ she didn't really want to drop the case. That it would nag at her just like all of the other clues that her grandfather sent her before, clues that she would ignore in favor of bigger cases. _Real_ cases. The fact that Yu seemed to know this irritated her to no end, and she began to feel anxious, as if he had forced himself into a realm beyond what she allowed others to see.

He looked down at the item on the table and said in a low voice, "That card is from Junes, isn't it?"

"It is." She had seen the text at the bottom of the card quite clearly: '_Junes vintage edition postcards'_.

"Then let's take a little detour on the way home. It couldn't hurt, right?" An understanding smile crossed his face.

"I suppose not." She sighed and rose to her feet, taking the postcard off of the table, fitting it back into the envelope and returning it to the inside pocket of her coat. "You win, Narukami-san."

* * *

Junes department store was located at the younger side of town, on the opposite side of the river from the old shopping district. On the walk from the Samegawa Flood Plains, you would pass through a small number of residential neighborhoods, each one more recently developed than the last. Junes was built almost two years ago here, a large chain store from the big city that signaled a change to modernity for the sleepy town. Commercialism had finally found Inaba, much to the dismay of the older residents.

Naoto's apartment was near this area, so it wouldn't be too far of a walk for her afterwards. Yu's home, the Dojima household, was on the opposite side of the river, so his walk back would be considerably longer. He didn't mind too much. Although the sun had almost dropped to the horizon, the weather was nice if a bit chilly. He didn't have any part time jobs to work tonight, either.

Searching for conversation topics with Naoto was sometimes difficult, especially when her mind was on a case. She was a very focused individual, but Yu guessed that because of her intense work ethic she had failed to develop certain social skills.

"So, what's your grandfather like?" Around the second neighborhood, Yu broke through an awkward silence that seemed to hang around too long for comfort. "He must be really intelligent… As a detective of his stature should be, I guess."

"Retired detective," Naoto responded while still looking ahead. "But yes, he is an amazing and kind man, and very, very intelligent. He raised me after my parents passed away, and still managed to solve hundreds of cases. He is legendary."

"I've heard." Yu smiled. "Of course, you're going to break that record some day, aren't you?"

This made her chuckle. "I can only hope. If I work hard enough on each case I take…" She trailed off.

"That's… partially why I've been so adamant about this particular case. The murders. If I can just solve it… well, let's just say it would be very important for me."

"Of course. It's important to all of us, I've told you that."

"Right, I know." She paused, and silence filled the air again, only disturbed by the sound of their shoes touching the sidewalk, Naoto's loafers scuffing the ground and clomping lightly, and Yu's school slippers clicking the pavement with a pitch that, if you closed your eyes, sounded like a rather hefty female. The department store approached up ahead.

"What about you, Senpai? I want to know what's waiting for you back in the city when you return."

Yu looked at her inquisitively. He wasn't expecting to get a question about his life or his family back home. So far he had only talked about the subject with Yosuke, but very briefly.

"Dojima-san has talked about your mother before at the station. He says she is quite a free spirit and full of positivity. She sounds like a wonderful person."

"Hmm… well, she has her moments, but overall she's pretty great," He said, flashing Naoto a grin.

"And what about your father? Dojima-san didn't mention him as much. What is he like? Do you have any siblings? What was it like for you growing up?"

"Wow, slow down!" He laughed, not expecting a barrage of inquiries about his family. "They're not _that _interesting."

"_You shouldn't be talking about this." _A voice, out of nowhere, whispered in his head.

The small detective put her hands in he pockets and looked away, embarrassed. "Apologies. Not having your typical family growing up, I'm always interested in other people's experiences as I'm sure they were… different from mine."

"Ah…" He felt a pang of guilt at how he had responded to her, and decided it was only fair to give her an answer. "My father… Dojima knows my _real_ father. He and my mother got divorced when I was pretty young."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, it was fine, it's nothing compared to what I imagine you had to go through.

"Anyway, my mother remarried not too long after, to a pretty successful business owner. He's the one Dojima doesn't know, and he's pretty much the one who raised me since. And that's all there is, more or less."

"Ah, a business owner? What kind of business does he run?" Naoto seemed genuinely interested in his family, to Yu's growing annoyance.

He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing his bangs to the right and out of his eyes. "I don't know, credit cards or something. It's not really important."

"_You really shouldn't be talking about this. Change the subject." _The voice whispered again, sounding closer and louder than before.

"Credit cards? I see, so I imagine he is very good with money." She continued, oblivious to Yu's subtle hints that he didn't feel like continuing down this path of conversation. "My parent's weren't nearly as rich as grandfather, but they did very well with what they had. I'm interested, Yu-san, as to what your stepfather was like. He must have given you some great advice regarding-"

"Look, can we just stop talking about my family?" Yu snapped, with a little more venom in his voice than he intended. "He's an asshole, okay? Let's just leave it at that."

There was immediate, deafening quiet. Poor Naoto, she had no idea that the subject of his family would touch such a nerve. A shocked expression crossed her face, her grey-blue eyes hovered wide on the boy before she quickly turned away and shoved her left hand in her coat pocket, her right hand furiously pulling on the bill of her hat. Her eyes disappeared behind the collar of her jacket.

"_Woah… woah! Hit the breaks Narukami! Turn this car around! If you're not careful, you'll crash and burn on the pavement. You can _not _fuck this up." He _was the one to bring up this subject in the first place, wasn't he? What an idiot.

Beads of sweat suddenly formed on his brow, and he clapped his hand over his eyes. _"Dammit. Way to blow it, Yu." _He hadn't meant to lash out at her like that. Matters at home were not usually brought up to his friends in Inaba. Naoto was the first one who seemed to dig just deep enough. Looking at the detective walking ahead of him, hands in her pockets and head down, a terrible, sickly feeling grew in his chest.

"Sorry," she said softly and abruptly. "I didn't mean to pry."

"No!" He replied, perhaps a bit too quickly. "I-It's my fault, I shouldn't have gotten so upset. It's your _job_ to pry anyway, isn't it?" He smiled, hoping she would turn around and see that he wasn't angry about it at all. She did, and to his immediate relief, returned it.

The silence came back for the rest of the walk up to Junes. This time, though, it felt quite a bit heavier than before.

* * *

"Here we are," Naoto sighed, happy to finally have something to focus on besides the uneasy air between them.

The Junes food court was mostly empty at this time of day. Not as many people came here for dinner as they did for lunch, especially on a school night. Teddie and Yosuke were nowhere to be found, Yu assumed they both had the day off. The only person the two recognized on the way in was detective Tohru Adachi, Dojima's partner, who was busy not doing his job near the entrance of the store. He recognized Naoto first, and then started snickering in that high-pitched voice of his when he realized the detective's tall, pig tailed friend was actually Dojima's nephew. He made an offhanded joke about finally having blackmail material to hold over his senior partner's head. The three then spoke briefly; Yu even invited him halfheartedly to dinner at the Dojima household, assuming that his uncle would probably forbid it anyway. Afterwards, Naoto made it a point to talk to a few of the cashiers, until one of them mentioned that someone fitting her description might have bought a postcard earlier that day.

Yu looked around. This place was all too familiar to him and the rest of the team. They often met here as a group to discuss new leads in the case, or to just enjoy a steak dinner on Yosuke. Junes was also where Yu first entered the TV world, and the place the team came back to consistently when someone who had been thrown in was in need of rescuing. Naoto, he realized, had never been a part of that. She hadn't yet had the experience of planning a strategy, diving into the TV, taking on countless shadows and convincing the victim to accept the darker aspect of themselves before their own shadow devoured them. A part of him hoped she never would.

The detective reached inside her coat pocket and removed the postcard, studying it carefully to see if there was anything she missed. "I feel like we are failing to put something together here," she said. "The Junes postcard and the word 'table'? Isn't that much too easy?"

Yu felt that she wasn't speaking to _him _necessarily, just running through her thoughts out loud.

"We haven't taken into account the picture itself. The hill? The TV station? Surely that is important. Why else would he choose to write it on a postcard and not a normal piece of paper?"

"Yeah," Yu nodded, "Maybe we're wasting our time here."

"Still," Naoto continued, seeming to ignore him, "There's no harm in trying out the simplest explanation."

"Do you think he might be _intentionally_ making it easy for you?"

This caught her attention. She hadn't entertained that particular line of reasoning before now, possibly because she already knew who the culprit was, thus found herself giving the entire situation minimal effort. But suddenly, she couldn't help but become a little worried.

"That's a possibility," she stated bluntly. "Let's split up and look around."

So they went to separate ends of the courtyard, Yu checking tables on the north side and Naoto checking to the south. Despite annoying several of the last customers who were just trying to enjoy a meal in peace, the two turned up with largely nothing, at least initially. Yu found a jack frost doll stuck in a bush near one of the tables, a toy car and a pack of cigarettes under another. Naoto checked for any writing, pieces of paper, or anything unusual about the tables themselves. Nothing seemed at all relevant.

It was dark out when they finally met in the middle of the courtyard. The artificial lights had been switched on, drowning out any view of the night sky and bathing the area in yellow incandescence.

"Anything on your side?" Yu asked.

"No, nothing interesting at least. Copious amounts of garbage, half eaten steak meals and plenty of chewed bubblegum." She crossed her arms and gave a frustrated sigh. "This is hardly the longest I've combed through a room looking for evidence, but for a nonsense case like this? It feels like hours. Have you found anything?"

He scratched his chin and shrugged, looking off to the side. "_He's as aloof as ever_," she thought. "_Before today, I thought there was nothing that could phase him…"_

"I found some things. They're all laid out on the table over there." He pointed to the round white table near the edge of the food court. She recognized it as the team's usual meeting spot. So nonchalant the boy was! He obviously had collected quite a wealth of trinkets in his search. Naoto felt like luck hadn't been on her side tonight.

They walked over to the table, and she knew almost immediately which item was the one meant for her to find. There were a number of things: the Jack Frost doll, toy car, a wallet some unfortunate customer had left behind; even the opened pack of cigarettes were laid out as a possibility. But the object on the far left was the one that caught her eye: A black, cheap looking digital watch.

Naoto's eyes widened. It was made mostly of rubber and plastic, and was scuffed and worn from years of use. The face contained only the time and the date, which appeared to be set properly. She bent over to examine it. Yes, it was in complete working order it seemed. On the rubber strap she noticed one of the holes was stretched and even a little chipped, as if someone had taken it off in a hurry, almost ripping it.

"The watch?" Yu was standing next to her, studying her reaction.

"Yes…" she said slowly, "This certainly brings back memories." Reaching out, she took the object in her hand and lifted it off of the table's surface. She had a distant look in her eye; a look that seemed nostalgic yet… troubled.

Yu sensed that there was a definite history behind this watch, one that might be connected to her shadow's insecurities. He would have to jump at this opportunity.

"What memories?" He asked.

She answered with a small, faraway voice. "I made this when I was young, just starting my career as a detective."

"You _made _it? That's pretty impressive."

She gave him a light laugh, "I used to make all kinds of gadgets like this. Silly things really, just toys. Most of them would serve some kind of purpose for a detective. Like this, for example…"

Lifting the watch and turning it to the side, she aimed it away from Yu and pushed one of the buttons that ran along the side. A bright, focused beam of white light lit up a bush nearby.

"Oh neat!" he exclaimed with surprising enthusiasm.

"It's a high-energy UV light," she explained grinning smugly, "One of its uses would be to blind a potential attacker. However, it has more important functions, like searching for forensic evidence. Bodily fluids, trace fibers, things like that." Removing her finger from the button, the light shut off and she returned her gaze to the object itself.

"Huh, that's pretty cool. So why would Yakushiji have this?"

Her expression sank. "I gave it to him. After my first bad experience with the police force."

There it was. This was what Yu had been waiting for, insight into a memory that made her who she was today. He would have to approach this topic with tact…

"I see… what prompted you to give it to him, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's fine." She gave out a sigh and gripped the watch tighter. "As I mentioned, I was very young, I hadn't yet started concealing my gender at this point. I started on a particular case that was stagnating on a recommendation by my grandfather, whom the chief respected greatly."

Yu had an idea of where this was going. The reason she started concealing her true gender was obviously based on some kind of trauma at work. He began to open his mouth instinctively, to tell her she didn't have to go on telling him this, but the voice in his head stopped him cold. "_Let her tell it."_

She continued, oblivious to him. "The case itself isn't important. It was an abduction case, one that I found fairly easy to solve. The other detectives felt understandably slighted by my presence, even at the chief's insistence that I was there to be a part of the team, not to lead it. They became bitter. It started off with just the usual 'What do you know, kid', and 'I've been in this line of work before you were even born'. Then, when I started making advancements in the case, it got worse. They got angry. Whenever I would try to speak they would cut me off with things like 'We weren't talking to you, bitch!' and when I would protest they would brush me off and tell me I was just having my period, and to go run home to grandpa, or back to my dead mommy and daddy!"

Her teeth clenched and her hand looked like it was about to crush the watch, while her gaze grew more intense, never once moving from the object she held. He had never seen her look angrier, and yet more vulnerable…

"Christ…" he breathed. He knew she had faced harassment and discrimination at some point, but that's all. He had no idea how bad it actually got. That whispering voice in his head had fallen silent. "What about the chief? Couldn't you report their behavior?"

"I tried," she said through her teeth, "But it always fell on deaf ears. He valued his team more than some freelance detective. It was his house. He told me to suck it up, that this was the world of crime solving and it wasn't all fun and games like in the novels. So condescending…"

"What a bastard!" These were adults! Grown men acting like high school bullies, and the management didn't even care!?

"They played pranks on me. They played pranks on each other, too, but they seemed to single me out for the particularly inappropriate ones, as if to make a statement. We all had lockers there; Once they filled mine with a bunch of barbie dolls. Numerous times they posted pictures with my face imposed on them. From the newspaper, or just drawn crudely, pictures of Sherlock Holmes, or some other storybook detective. Pictures from pornographic magazines, where I was always the woman, and the man was…" She trailed off, her voice shaking uncontrollably. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes.

Yu watched her, and a heavy, sinking feeling overcame him. The voice was gone, replaced by a mixture of anger, guilt, fear, and admiration. Naoto was strong; she had faced this kind of behavior time and time again, yet continued to pursue her dream of being a detective regardless. One does not push this hard out of necessity, or a feeling of obligation. She wanted this more than anything else, and at the age of sixteen she had twenty-three closed cases under her belt to prove it. Yes, the experiences had robbed her of her innocence, and work had taken over her life, but still…

He suddenly felt very small next to this girl, dwarfed by her courage and resolve. This wasn't something he was prepared for, and just now the thought entered his mind that not only was this 'strengthening bonds' thing impossible, it was petty and irrelevant. But the voice persisted, albeit weaker now, urging him to carry on.

Naoto calmed herself and dropped her hand to her side, letting her gaze lead up into the night sky. "Yakushiji-san, he… he was there for me. The whole time. He was the one urging me not to give up. Grandpa too, but Yakushiji was acting as my guardian, putting up with my tantrums when I came home, and comforting me. I was about to quit many times, but he believed in me and told me to fight through it, that it would get better. And he was right, I never did have an experience quite as traumatizing as that case, though it still got close at times. I started to conceal my true gender after that. Once the case was solved, I gave him this watch I was working on as a token of my gratitude. I… had no real use for it anyway. He kept wearing it ever since."

Another silence floated between them, and the sound of the buzzing lights rose up to fill the void. For the first time in quite a while, Yu didn't know what to say or do. The detective pulled down on the bill of her hat and sniffed, blinking out the traces of tears from of her eyes. She regained her posture and turned to Yu with a slight, awkward grin, chuckling through her nose.

"Sorry. I suppose that's more than you wanted to hear, isn't it?"

He was about to respond, but she continued quickly before he could. "Let's get on with the clues, okay Yu-san? I think I have an idea of what to do with this watch."

He simply nodded, unsure of how to respond.

"Firstly, where did you find it?"

"On the underside of this table." Yu tapped the surface of their familiar gathering. "There's a little ledge where the legs all meet in the center. It was sitting on top of that."

Naoto immediately dropped down to her hands and knees to observe the scene. Yu hesitated briefly before shaking himself out of his stupor and following her lead, taking a knee beside her to peer under the tabletop. She moved quickly, her eyes sharp as she peered around every nook and cranny, even scooting the table slightly to check under the feet.

"What should we be looking for?" Yu asked.

"I'm not positive," Naoto responded without deviating from her search, "But we may be looking for some kind of hidden message, written in a substance invisible to our naked eyes. Make sure you don't touch _anything."_ She lifted the watch, and pushed in the button for the UV light. The legs of the table were suddenly brightly illuminated, and with the light of the watch under the shade from the lamps overhead, Yu could see that the table was… filthy! Dirt, hairs, stains from substances that had probably been accumulating for months, all highlighted in a bright blue glow.

"Man," he said, "They really have to clean this place."

"You would be surprised at what you can find if you point this light at just about anything," she mused.

Yu began to think carefully about the last time he washed his hands, or cleaned his bedroom. Naoto slowly scanned upwards with the light, from the base of the legs to the underside of the table. Here, in between pieces of chewed gum stuck to the surface was even more dirt and stains than before. Smears of fat from customers' greasy fingers, stains from drops of spilled soda, marks made by the water condensation of the morning's dew. Then, she saw it.

It made her take a sharp breath as her lips came together, her eyes shot open wide. Yu followed her gaze, and his head nearly knocked against the table as he jumped in surprise. There was a message here all right. The words were wiped out of the grungy underside of the table, dark spots against the UV light's blue reflections. The letters were messy and oddly spaced, but the message was still clear:

"I'M WATCHING YOU."

Naoto kept the light focused on the message. Her mouth had gone dry. Instinctively, the two of them had found themselves briefly glancing around to see if there was someone hidden behind them. Of course, they saw no one. As soon as he calmed his nerves, Yu spoke.

"I'm watching you… is this a clue? Or is it a warning?"

"Well, considering the obvious pun, it could be some sort of clue." Naoto frowned. Had Yakushiji-san really written this?

"The writing seems off. Odd spacing, letters at different angles. It seems as though he was writing it without looking, possibly while sitting in one of the chairs."

She pushed herself off of her knees and stood up, and the underside of the table became dark again. Yu followed her, confused at the sudden break in her focus. Reaching into her coat pocket, she put away the watch and removed her cell phone, flipping it open with a quick snap and punching in numbers with her thumb.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm calling Yakushiji-san, and confronting him about this silly game he's involved me in. It's becoming tedious and frankly I don't have time for it." Holding the phone up to her ear, she crossed her other arm under her elbow and looked off to the side impatiently.

Yu could hear the faint ringing from the speaker against her ear. This time, there was nothing he could do to get her to continue the case. He didn't disagree with her, either. The message under the table was a bit sinister for a simple detective game, and thinking about it again gave him a slight chill. Watching them? Who would be watching them, and why?

The ringtone sounded again. Then it sounded a third time. Then, silence. Naoto brought the phone down from her ear and stared at it. "Hmm… No answer, and no voicemail…" She pocketed the cellphone. "It appears I'll have to try again sometime soon. He must be busy."

Her tone was dry, and she sounded sure of herself, but Yu noticed a hint of worry cross her face as she turned towards him. "Well Yu-san, I'm afraid I must bid you goodnight, I have things I need to attend to back home." She smiled. "We can meet up again after I talk to Yakushiji-san and sort this whole thing out."

He nodded, "Sure, sounds good."

Looking away nervously, her hand came up to pull down on her hat. "But before I go, I want to… thank you, for pushing me to go even this far with such a case. Without you, I would never have come here and found this watch and…" She sighed. "Thank you, for listening and understanding. I was a bit beside myself back there, and to be honest, I haven't told many people about my early experiences and I hope you don't see me any differently than before and, ah…" She stopped herself as she was beginning to ramble. "I'm not sure what I'm trying to convey, but thanks… I guess."

Not once could she meet Yu's gaze, and her hand never left the bill of her cap. Yu wore a concerned expression, his eyes regarding the detective with a different understanding. Then, he felt the familiar sensation hit him. A new room opened in the labyrinth of his mind, something had been added to him, unlocked, something that might have been there all along but was just now being discovered. That whispering voice, that meddling, rational part of his mind returned. _"Congratulations. You've succeeded."_

"My stepdad…" He suddenly blurted out. Wait, was it him? It sounded like his voice, but couldn't be sure… "My stepdad married my mom when I was eight year old."

_"What… What are you doing?"_

Naoto's head snapped up, utterly surprised that he would return to this topic after what happened before.

"I didn't like him at first, but I warmed up to him. I warmed up to him a lot, and soon I came to like him better than my real dad, who was never really there a lot in the first place, from what I can remember."

"_Stop talking, dammit! You've gotten this far, don't ruin it!" _The voice changed from a whisper to a loud yell, but his words kept falling out, as if he had no control over his own body.

"He became a mentor of sorts to me. I looked up to him, so did my mom. But then…"

_"For the love of God… SHUT. UP."_

"But then he…" His senses seemed to come back to him now, as the voice elevated itself to a deafening scream. "He did something that hurt my mom and I. Badly." He finished quickly, and with that, he regained control of himself, glancing away from the detectives prying eyes.

_"Such an idiot…"_

Naoto looked slightly bewildered, not entirely knowing how to react. "I… see. Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?"

"It's only fair, I guess. I'm sorry, but that's all I can get out."

"That's alright. It must be difficult to talk about, I understand." She gave him a slight yet genuine smile. And there was no doubt in Yu's mind that she truly did. With that, and after a moment of awkward deliberation, she buttoned up her coat and started to turn towards the exit. "Well Yu-san, it's getting late. I should be on my way now."

"I agree," he said, then added, "And I'm walking you home."

This made her stop dead in her tracks. "What? Senpai, there really is no need."

His expression became stern, and he crossed his arms. He would have looked quite intimidating if it weren't for the fact that he was still wearing a dress and had his hair done up in cute pigtails. "Come on, Naoto. You know I can't let you walk home alone in the dark after getting a message like that. I don't care if it was from Yakushiji-san or not."

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself, thank you!" Eyes narrowing, the detective looked more indignant than ever.

Yu simply stood with his arms crossed and stared back at her silently, looking like an odd statue of a girly samurai warrior. The two stood there for a minute, just staring each other down.

"Ugh, very well." Naoto finally conceded. "It's only a short walk, but if it puts you at ease…"

"Great!" Yu's expression changed abruptly from stone faced to cheery, almost childlike. He shouldered his katana and walked up next to the detective, who rolled her eyes and headed for the door.

_"That was close," _the voice whispered, and Yu knew it wasn't a strange, unfamiliar entity speaking to him, but simply a rational aspect of his own mind. _"She managed to almost make you slip up, to bring you much too close to destruction. It can't happen again. Focus on what matters." _What matters… Again, it seemed he had to keep telling himself this, beating the notion down into his head until it stuck firmly in place. "_I _know, _dammit."_

* * *

**Hey all! A few things:**

**-Thank you for making it all the way here! The section involving Naoto's Social Link was only supposed to be PART of a chapter not ALL of one, so obviously there was a lot of Naoto here, and there will be next chapter as well, albeit for different reasons. So, if you don't like Naoto, I don't know... Like better characters?**

**-WhateverNever and Originaljuan92, you guys are both on the right track, glad that came across ok!**

**-The next chapter will be up very soon, I already have it written I just wanted to give this one a bit of breathing room first. So keep an eye out for that one in the next few days.**

**-I realize it's a commitment already to read some of these stories, I hardly have time to read many stories myself, but if you could, please leave a review on your way out. It can be really quick, something like "It's awesome!" or "It sucks," or preferably "It's cool, but here's how it could be better..." Anything like that would be great and I would really appreciate it.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	4. Truth Seekers

"_It's too late for coffee_," Naoto thought to herself as she poured her second cup. There was a lot of work ahead of her tonight, though, and it was doubtful she'd be getting to sleep any time soon. She knew it was pointless to a certain extent, it had been enough time after all for her body to adapt to the effects of regular caffeine intake; so at this point it was mainly just staving off withdraw. Still, if it wasn't a physical stimulant it was a much-needed mental one.

The mug came down on her desk with a clunk, and she relaxed into her chair before scooting it in a bit closer to rest her forearms on the desktop. Her room was dark, with only the bright screen of her laptop illuminating the bare walls with an unnatural hue. Multiple half emptied boxes were stacked up in the corner, casting angular shadows across the floor. There was a small dresser in the corner with a week's worth of clothing folded neatly inside, and a large stack of books sitting on top. Next to that was a twin size bed with plain white sheets, made somewhat hurriedly, below the lone window that peered out onto the road two stories below, dark and peppered with dim streetlights. Other than these few items and her aluminum desk which sat above numerous file cabinets, her bedroom was decidedly empty. Since she had moved to Inaba specifically to work on the case alongside the police department, she had no intention of getting comfortable. This was a temporary residence, meant for sleeping and doing late night research only. Even though she was no longer '_officially'_ on the case, she was treating the situation no differently.

She took an idle sip from her mug, and glanced over at the door. Next to it, leaning against the corner was a new item, perhaps her first real decoration of sorts. It was Yu's wooden katana. He had given it to her after walking her home, or rather he had made her take it, telling her to use it for defense in case anyone suspicious showed up. Naoto had coolly reminded him that she carried a gun, but he insisted, presenting it to her as if it were a family keepsake passed down through the generations, and warning her stupidly that she could always run out of bullets. She then sighed in defeat. Her senpai could be enormously stubborn at times. Although she was sure it would be useless, there was something about it that brightened up the room a bit, nonetheless.

When arrived inside her apartment, she had tried to contact Yakushiji-san again, but there was still no response. It was curious and a bit worrying considering the words that still remained impressed into her mind: 'I'M WATCHING YOU'. Most unsettling, but she decided to let it go until after she got some rest. It wasn't like he hadn't been busy or forgotten to charge his cellphone before. She would try to contact him again in the morning.

The report she had been working on was nearly finished, but she supposed it didn't necessarily have to contain every detail tonight for it to be useful. She brushed her fingers across her head and let her bangs fall between her eyes. With the cabbie hat absent from her head, sitting next to her on top of a small stack of manila folders, her dark, short-cropped hair was getting a little unruly. Her jacket had been thrown onto the bed, leaving only her white button-up top, partially unbuttoned for comfort, and black Yasogami High dress pants. "_Perhaps I should make myself look a little more presentable?" _She thought, before dismissing the idea, not quite out of laziness but more out of sheer fatigue. The meeting would begin soon, but anybody organizing a discussion for this late at night would have to expect the other participant to look less than her best. Her eyes fell on the time display at the top of her laptop screen. 11:29 pm. "_Any minute now…"_

As if on cue, a small window popped up on the screen in front of her accompanied by a soft bell sound. "Would you like to accept the incoming video call?" It said. She clicked 'yes'.

A larger window opened, and the profile of a man illuminated by the light of his own laptop could be seen inside it. A smile of recognition crossed her face; it had been some time since she had last seen him. He was an older man, probably working his way into his sixties, with tanned skin and brown eyes that were hidden behind glasses and eyelids half closed by a smile, bordered by a number of deep wrinkles. His hair was short and dark, with gray spots peppering the top of his head and overtaking his sideburns. His brows were thick, and currently turned up in a surprised and welcoming expression.

"Good evening Naoto-san! I'm sorry to have to be contacting you so late like this. I hope you're still awake!" The man had a powerful voice, not deep, just very clear and purposeful.

"Yes of course, it's quite alright Ito-san, this is the time that was best for me as well. I needed a little while to compile my reports."

"Good to hear! Glad it worked out for the both of us then." The man adjusted his glasses and squinted at his screen. "I have to say Naoto-san, now that we're face to face; it's amazing how much you've grown since I last saw you. I can't even remember how long ago it was…"

"Six years, Ito-san, I remember. It's when my grandfather was still not yet retired." She smiled, reminiscing.

The man let out a hearty laugh. "Of course! It was right after I joined the NPA! How could I forget? You were the cutest little gumshoe, weren't you? Always showing off your little homemade gadgets. Your grandfather couldn't resist calling me a sellout or a government lapdog at the time, could he?"

"He did like to tease you about that." She chuckled; her grandfather was always an independent worker, as was the entire Shirogane family of detectives. He would have never resorted to taking a government job; he much preferred the freedom of having his own business. Of course, with their family's reputation he would never have had to.

"Well, the old man is a legend, so he has every right to I suppose." A twinkle remained in his eye even as his laughter subsided.

Suddenly, he glanced down at his screen. "Ah, excuse me Naoto-san, but the catching up will have to wait until later. Our third party is calling in."

"Third party?"

"Yes, the three of us will be working closely on this case. Did I not mention him before?"

She shook her head.

"Don't worry, he doesn't know your true gender and I won't bring it up in his presence. Your secret is safe with me, little one." He gave her a wink.

Naoto fidgeted. Was she prepared? She didn't exactly take the time to properly disguise herself before receiving the call, not to mention she was not entirely presentable at the moment. Her jacket and cap had been removed, leaving only her white button-up short sleeve. Her hair was a bit messier than usual, and there were light rings under her eyes from staring at the computer screen for hours. The collar she usually wore to hide the lack of an adam's apple was absent, the feminine shape of her neck and downturned collarbone were exposed. She hadn't undone the binding from her chest yet though, so maybe those other details would be overlooked. She re-buttoned her shirt up to her collarbone just to be safe.

"Are you ready, Naoto-san?"

"Yes," she replied quickly.

Another window popped up, asking her to accept another call, which she promptly did. The new window contained the profile of a much younger man, probably barely in his twenties, with a long face and messy, wavy brown hair. He appeared to be very tall; she gathered by the way he seemed to be looking down at his computer instead of straight at it. He wore an expression of either boredom or fatigue; it was hard to tell which.

Ito spoke first. "Shirogane, this is Yoshio Abe, Abe-san, meet Naoto Shirogane."

"Pleasure to meet you, Abe-san," Naoto said, nodding politely. She was initially a little surprised hearing Ito suddenly refer to her by her last name, but she understood the reason.

"Ah. Hey," he responded dully, his rough, nasally voice carrying a slight tone of disinterest. "Pleased to meet you."

Naoto wasn't one to judge a person's character based on first impressions, but if she were, she would be inclined to describe this boy as entitled, perhaps quite narcissistic. The way his eyes peered down at her over his bottom lids seemed to say, "_Go ahead. Make yourself worthy of my time."_ She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, however, and responded with a polite nod.

"Abe, I'm sure you've heard of Shirogane before, he's an ace detective currently working on our case from Inaba. He's quite brilliant for his young age," Ito explained, giving a subtle wink to Naoto as he did.

"Shirogane, Yoshio Abe is a genius engineer, _also_ quite brilliant for his age, who was formerly employed by the Kirijo Group. I'm sure you've heard of them."

"Yes, I have." Naoto was of course familiar with the powerful organization. They commanded a large economic and political presence, especially on Tatsumi Port Island, where their main research headquarters were located. It was hard to find any other enterprise, corporate or otherwise, that hadn't had dealings with the group in some way.

Ito continued, "Before he left, Abe was doing research and development on a number of anti-shadow weapons, and he brings that expertise to us today."

"I see…" Naoto said, now her interest was piqued, "Can you tell me why you decided to leave, Abe-san?"

Abe shifted slightly, and brought his hand up to stroke his chin. "Ah, well…" His manner of speech seemed drawn out, and unnecessarily slow. "The head engineer and I, we didn't see things the same way. He insisted on creating these… Persona-using androids, which I thought were ah, inefficient, and a huge waste of resources, to put it lightly. Their ability to take out shadows was highly variable, and their actions were unpredictable. Just useless junk, in my opinion." He sighed and brought his hand down on the table, letting it fall as if it were too much effort just to hold it up. It made a 'bang!' sound and caused his screen to shake briefly. He cleared his throat loudly. "Androids were like this guy's religion though, he was totally stuck on his way of doing things. So I basically went over his head, and uh, created something much simpler and more effective. He didn't like that one bit. He just couldn't see how much this would revolutionize everything, you know? Such an old-timer. So stuck in the past. We butted heads over this for a little while until he decided to pull rank, and got me fired. And maaayybe I sabotaged one of his android components in the meantime, which he got real mad about. But you know, mostly creative differences, probably."

Naoto was almost offended by the man's complete lack of self-awareness, but she hid that fact, focusing more on what he had to say. Persona-wielding androids? She had no idea there could be such a thing. Ito watched her reaction, and after Abe had finished speaking gave out a small chuckle.

"Yes, Abe is quite the troublemaker, but his weapons are effective and will give us an edge in this investigation."

"Pssh. 'Effective'…" Abe snorted out a bemused laugh. "That's an understatement."

Ito seemed to ignore him, and directed his attention towards Naoto. "Shirogane. I gave you an assignment when we talked on the phone, didn't I? To bring me a personal and physical report of all the people currently able to harness the power of the shadows, correct?"

"That is correct. I have it with me right now."

"Perfect! Then before you send me a copy of the files via email, please give a brief summary of the details for us now."

She expected he would ask for this, and she was fully prepared with her response. "Of course, Ito-san. However, before I divulge specific information about my high-school classmates to a stranger and a man I haven't seen in years, please allow me this quick diversion."

"Oh?" he asked, looking a bit perplexed at her comment. "And what would this 'diversion' be?"

She gave him a wry smile. "Well you see, this meeting time was more beneficial than you realize. I finished _your_ report _last_ night. Tonight before the call, I was compiling a different set of information. Information on _you_ Ito-san."

His eyes lit up and he looked surprised, but also a little impressed. His surprise changed abruptly into a devious smile, however, and he nodded to her. "Go on then, detective Shirogane, do your worst!"

She cleared her throat, clicked over to the text document that was open in front of her, and began.

"Detective Takeshi Ito, born in August of 1951. Started career as a police officer for the Sumaru police department, before being promoted to detective and promptly moving to Iwtodai, where you became very highly regarded among your peers. This is where you met my grandfather, who was hired for a specific case and soon became your mentor. You quit the force after a case you were particularly invested in was discarded, and decided to work as an independent detective like my grandfather. You had mild success, closing a number of important and not so important cases in your time. But, it eventually came to an end, and work dried up. This became a point of contention between you and my grandfather, did it not? You became a direct competitor to him and found yourself struggling to get cases. Soon you were forced to take a government job in a menial position for the NPA. After a number of years you again worked your way up to head detective, which is a position you stayed in until quite recently." She paused while she clicked open another document. "Now, please feel free to correct any of the following information if it is necessary to do so. This was not easy to obtain."

The man frowned contemplatively, and gave a slight nod. She had his full attention now.

Naoto cleared her throat once more, and continued. "Recently, a top-secret branch of the NPA was formed, one that involved itself in cases that bordered on the paranormal. This was in response to a corporate investigation of the Kirijo Group after a certain mysterious event that took place on Tatsumi Port Island not long ago. This investigation turned up certain paranormal findings when files from the Group's database were analyzed. Now, to me it seems odd that there would be a special branch of the NPA investigating the Kirijo Group, since they do hold significant power in the government, but I digress. This branch is broken into subsections, one of them led by none other than yourself, Ito-san. This subsection is devoted solely to investigating cases involving the entities called 'shadows'. Does this all sound accurate to you, Ito-san?"

Ito was beaming. "Very impressive, Naoto-san!" The lines around his eyes multiplied as his smile grew wider. "This is how I know you are the right man for the job!"

Abe looked somewhat amused, a flat grin crossed his face and he nodded, approvingly if somewhat condescendingly.

"This branch of the NPA," Naoto went on, "contains only a few, heavily vetted employees, although I'm not sure of the exact criteria used. It seems, though, that you weren't able to make much progress beyond the Kirijo documents. Most of your investigations have been hindered by hoaxes and frauds, or the meddlings of the Group. Your branch is in danger of being dissolved, isn't it?"

"Not if this case goes smoothly." Ito's amusement faded a bit as he addressed the detective. "As I've said before, we were alerted to activity in this town due to the nature of the murders and the state of the victims' bodies. They were undoubtedly linked to shadow activity. We also need to solve this before the Kirijo Group gets their claws into the investigation, or we might be left with nothing but a giant cover-up. I can already sense them getting their expensive leather's all scuffed up over the details coming out of Inaba, so it's only a matter of time. Fortunately they have a lot more paperwork to go through than we do." With his large index finger, he pushed his eyeglasses back up the wide bridge of his nose. "Furthermore, since your friends are linked to this incident and are able to control 'personas', we need to determine how the shadows might be affecting them as well. Any information is good information, as you surely know."

Naoto sighed, and opened yet another text document. "Very well," she said, and proceeded to list off information on the other persona users. She mentioned Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, and Rise Kujikawa as the three kidnapping victims after the late Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. The dates of their disappearance and consequent rescue were given, as well as information on their parents' careers, and finally their medical reports. Yosuke Hanamura and Chie Satonaka were brought up in a similar fashion but with the added note of their having not been kidnapped. Teddie's exam results in particular earned a raised eyebrow from Ito.

Then she came to Yu Narukami. "Sixteen. A transfer student from an unknown city, possibly Iwatodai. Currently lives with his Uncle, detective Ryotaro Dojima of the Inaba Police Force. His father seems to have left at a young age, and his mother remarried to a successful businessman whose name I do not have. He was not kidnapped, nor was there a specific event that triggered his ability to use a persona. As far as I know there was never an encounter with a shadow counterpart. Also, he appears to be able to control multiple personae, instead of just one."

"And his medical report?" Ito asked.

"Unfortunately, I do not have it." She responded, feeling somewhat guilty despite herself.

"Well then…" Ito leaned forward, bringing his face closer to the camera and smiling broadly. "It seems you have a bit more work to do, Shirogane."

Naoto's face flushed red, and she frowned. She was frustrated, and disappointed in herself. How could she have so little on Yu and so much on everyone else? "It seems that way," she mumbled.

"Out of all the information you've given me tonight, this boy's has caught my interest the most. In order to get to the bottom of this shadow situation, we need to learn how to get closer to them, and this boy may just be the key. I need more background, and I _need_ to see his medical reports. X-rays too, please. Am I clear, Shirogane?"

"Yes sir," she said and leaned back in her chair. "Understood."

"Good." Ito leaned back as well. "I know you're passionate about this case. And I know _you _know that just apprehending the murderer will not give us all the answers we seek. That's why I have complete faith that you will help us get to the bottom of this."

"Don't worry. Next time we meet I'll have the information you need."

"That's my boy! Alright Shirogane, Abe, this meeting is adjourned. We'll convene again in three days time. Until then, you're both on call." Ito adjusted his glasses and leaned over his keyboard. His finger met a button below him, and his picture went blank.

"Until next time," Abe said and smirked, before his screen went blank as well.

Naoto sat in silence for a moment, staring at the empty windows on her computer screen. She reached over and took a sip of her coffee. It was cold. Leaning over her desk, she propped her elbows on the surface and buried her hands in her hair, before dragging them down over her face. It was 12:30 in the morning, and she still wasn't quite ready for sleep. Thinking about her failure to gather all the required information for her case would keep her up, anyway.

She opened up a browser window. At least she could get a head start for next time then, while she was still up. So, for the next hour or so she committed herself to gathering as much history as possible on Yu Narukami; checking into his family name, their line of business, places they lived. It turned out to be a tougher job than she anticipated. Almost no information was available about the Narukamis, other than the fact that one of them was recorded as being a soldier in World War II. Here she could extrapolate, however, and digging into this soldier's biography she found that this Narukami had a grandson named Hiru, who had married a small-time photographer named Emi. Emi… Dojima!

So this was most likely his mother, the sister that Ryotaro had mentioned fondly on numerous occasions at the police station. Now she was getting somewhere. According to Yu, his mother had divorced Hiru Narukami and had kept her son, and then before he was a teenager she remarried…

She paused. There was something here that didn't sit well with her. There was something about his family that Yu didn't want to talk about, even though at one point he seemed to be trying his hardest despite himself… She felt guilty all of a sudden. Not that she hadn't before; Digging up information on all of her friends, the ones who had bravely rushed in to rescue her from certain death at the hands of her own shadow, didn't exactly make her feel noble. But she told herself over and over that this wasn't just about _her_, it was about finding the cause of the presence of shadows and the midnight channel. It was bigger than her, bigger than her friends. And, as she mustered up her resolve once again, bigger than her relationship with Yu Narukami. They could put an end to the murderer, but that wouldn't put an end to the shadows and the potential for further harm, that much was clear.

Emi Dojima, Emi Narukami. Could she have taken on another surname when she remarried? Naoto thought for a second. If Yu's mother was a professional photographer, surely she would have some kind of portfolio up online? Typing Emi Narukami into a search engine came up with nothing useful. Emi Dojima came up with a credit on a magazine article written years ago, probably before she was even married for the first time. She followed the link, and then followed another under the photographer credit, which took her to the page she was looking for.

Naoto absently took another sip out of her mug, wincing as the cold, distasteful liquid hit the back of her throat. Emi's website was a bit outdated, her last update was almost four years ago. It appeared to be a beautiful photograph of an old woman in a black gown, obviously attending a funeral. She had a longing, far away smile on her face, and deep wrinkles around her eyes that were made more apparent by the clearness of the picture. Naoto became lost in it for a moment; Yu's mother was quite talented. Then, her eyes moved to the top of the page. The website name and subsequently the header on the page had been changed since the article. Emi Dojima was now Emi Matsumoto.

Matsumoto… the name rang a bell. She said it out loud to herself, as if hearing it would help her remember. Where had she heard that name before? Of course, searching for just the surname brought up a number of unrelated results, from politicians to chefs to teachers to… '_I don't know, credit cards or something…'_

Naoto froze. Thoughts crossed her mind, images of news reports, scandal, controversy. Somehow these faded memories crept up; they were there but hadn't been fully registered in her consciousness. What was she getting in to? Was this something she really needed to pursue? She opened up the search engine once again and filtered for videos, sorting by date. The first page and a half had nothing of relevance, but there on the second page, a fragmented image from her memory became a vivid reality on her screen. It was a recorded news report from around one year ago. The detective hovered the cursor over the image and hesitated for a long moment, feeling her resolve waver once more. She clicked it open.

Scandal, controversy… The voice of the late reporter Mayumi Yamano narrated the scene, hordes of cameras and microphones surrounded by angry pedestrians holding signs. At the middle of the chaos was a middle-aged man in a black suit, a tall, weathered looking businessman with dark hair parted neatly along the side of his scalp. His hands were behind his back and he was being led on either side by two policemen, who were fighting through the crowd to get to the car at the end of the walkway. Allegations of fraud. Embezzlement. It all came back to her now. Just over a year ago this man, Matsumoto, leader of a smaller corporate credit union was arrested for purposely mismanaging the funds of its debtors. The outrage was palpable at the time, and although Naoto was not yet experienced in financial matters, she could understand the people's anger. They had been swindled, robbed of income, and judging by their ferocious cries and less than intelligible interviews, they were out for his blood.

She finished watching the video, and found that her hand had risen up to cover her mouth, which hung open in shock. She sat there staring at the video long after the screen had turned black. Was this really Yu's stepfather? The one he was so hesitant to bring up? The connections were there: One year ago she had witnessed this report, and almost one year ago Yu Narukami had arrived in Inaba. He had said that his parents worked a lot, and that he had come here because they had to leave on a business trip. But that wasn't true at all, was it? The real reason he had come to Inaba was that his father had just been taken to prison, and his mother had sent him to live with her brother to safeguard him from the resulting media chaos! This is why he had gotten angry with her for prying, why he always _hated_ talking about leaving Inaba in the coming months. It was because when he left, she thought to herself with a heavy sadness, he would be returning to a broken home.

Naoto was instantly overcome with guilt, and she slammed her laptop closed, as if doing so would erase what she had seen from her mind. She felt sick. This was what he had been trying to hide from her, what he'd almost told her but had stopped himself before he could. She tried to focus her mind on the case at hand, and that calmed her somewhat. "Remember," she said to herself, "This is bigger than Yu, bigger than all of us. I have to do what needs to be done." Then, swallowing the lump that had risen in her throat, she thought, "_Besides, he doesn't have to know that I know. That _they'll_ know_."

Where the laptop screen had been, she refocused and could see the wooden katana propped up against the wall several feet away. "_I still have to obtain his medical results…" _she thought with a weary hesitation.

Naoto started to ponder a way to find them. "_Were they still at the hospital? Had he lied when he said he didn't have them?" _But soon the exhaustion from working late finally overcame her, and she felt her eyelids getting heavy. Rising from her chair, she didn't even bother washing up or removing her clothes before falling onto her bed with a tired sigh. Lying on her belly with her head turned to the side on her pillow, she gazed out the window at a clear moonless night, and slowly drifted out of consciousness.


End file.
